Beautiful Eyes
by Midj.59
Summary: Jeb has designed the perfect match for Iggy. And she's nothing like Iggy would imagine. And she's hiding something. Iggy/OC UP FOR ADOPTION!
1. Burns

**Hey guys, its Midj. This is my first fanfic. Yes, Dylan is included and maybe a little Fax and Mylan, but mainly Iggy and...I can't tell you yet. But I will tell you that the story is entierly mapped out and in my head. This is kinda short, mostly because its the introduction. The real action begins later. Review and I'll give you a metaphorical cookie. :)**

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><p>It was late at night and the flock fighting for their lives…again. The M-geeks had set the front lawn on fire and it was spreading to Dr. Martinez's house. Max was getting everyone out of the house, which meant picking up Ella and Dr. M. But Dr. M had to go grab the baby photos for some reason.<p>

At this point, the fire had fully engulfed the front part of the house and Dr. M had run back with the baby photos. Max looked around to see if everyone was okay, and everyone was. For the moment. When the flock, Ella, and Dr. M took off, Iggy's wing had been burned and he was no longer able to fly. The flock was already to far up to notice. The smoke was just pouring into his lungs. It became hard to stand. Iggy collapsed and a ring of fire surrounded him. _I don't want to die. Send someone to save me, God. Don't let me die, I'm not finished living. Please! _Iggy thought loudly. Darkness was closing around his mind. He was suffocating. And he gave up. "Goodbye," he whispered. The last thing he saw before he passed out was a person. He didn't know whom. They put a breathing mask on his face and comforting, clean oxygen flowed into his lungs. But Iggy was already unconscious. He was carried into a laboratory-owned ambulance.

"Will he be okay?" a paramedic asked.

"He'll be alright," answered Jeb. He was sitting in the ambulance and examining Iggy's injured wing, "We're still going to question him."

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><p>Iggy awoke in a hospital bed with a breathing mask on and needles jabbing into his skin. His shirt was not on him, and his bare chest was being poked with more needles. The feathers on his burned wing were gone, and the skin looked charred. <em>Where am I? Where are my friends?<em> Someone walked in. "How do you feel?" the person asked. It was a woman.

Iggy opened his mouth but all that came out was coughing.

The woman gave a worried look and scribbled something on a clipboard. "I'm going to take that as a 'not so good'. My name is Caroline, and I'll be in charge of you for the next couple of days."

_GET ME OUTTA HERE, _screamed Iggy in his head. He didn't want this whitecoat to take care of him. He wanted Max to take care of him. Max. Just the thought of her made him feel upset.

Ever since she had chosen Fang and not Iggy, the world came down on him. He had always known she would choose him, but now it was Fang. Not Iggy. He didn't know why she didn't love him like she did Fang, but he always suspected his eyes had something to do with it. Ella loved him, but she was too young. He was 15 and she was 12. He didn't understand why she had to be younger. Iggy didn't understand love. For all he knew, it was a twisted, sickening feeling. All love had ever done was screw up his life. So Iggy had tried to just stop feeling love, stop thinking about Max and to not feel all happy near her. But that was nearly impossible.

He snapped out of his daydream to see the woman leave the room. Great, now he was totally alone. Iggy wanted to know if there was a radio in the room. Music is soothing.

The door opened once again, but the footsteps were too loud to be Caroline's. "Hello, Iggy," said Jeb. It was definitely Jeb. "I have to ask you a couple questions, if that's okay."

_It isn't okay._ Jeb shoved a notepad into Iggy's arms. "Write down the answers on this," said Jeb. "First question. Has Max mated with Dylan yet?" asked Jeb. Iggy winced and wrote a big fat "NO" on his paper.

"Second question. Is she still in love with Fang?" Iggy wrote "YES" on his notepad. He didn't want the answer he wrote to be true.

"Third question. Has Max been warming up to Dylan?" Iggy wrote "YES" on his paper.

"Fourth question. Would a new female flock member be good for the flock? Would it be good for you?" Iggy wrote "I don't know" on his paper.

Jeb got up and walked out the door.

_A new flock member? A girl flock member? How on Earth would that be good for the flock? _Something in the back of Iggy's mind knew a new member might be good for him.


	2. Together again

Max was flying with her flock, Ella, and Dr. M, satisfied that they had escaped without a scratch. She heard a scream from behind her.

"MAX! WHERE IS IGGY?" It was Angel. Max suddenly saw that Iggy was not flying with them. Max turned around and gave the hand signal for 'land'.

The flock flew downwards and smoothly landed in a field. Max frantically glanced around. "Do you think he lost us, you know, because he's blind?" asked Dylan.

"No, he never loses us. Let's go back to Dr. M's house, in case he…," Fang's voice trailed off, but everyone knew what he meant. "Ella, Dr. Martinez, you stay here with Total. We'll pick you up later."

The flock arrived at the burned remains of their old house. Max felt like someone had kicked her in the chest. All the memories that they'd shared in this house were destroyed. But Max couldn't focus on the rubble; she had to focus on who was in the rubble. The flock dug in the rubble until they were sure Iggy was not there. They were all having a hard time accepting that Iggy probably wasn't even alive. Out of everyone, Gazzy put in the most effort to finding Iggy, only to be let down.

"Don't worry, Gaz, we'll find him," Angel said to Gazzy, but even she was beginning to doubt that Iggy was alive. They all had to try to face the fact that Iggy had probably been murdered by M-Geeks. They flew back to Total, Ella, and Dr. M, and had to tell them that they weren't able to find Iggy.

"So, did you find him?" asked Ella with a hopeful tone.

"Ella," Max answered, "We couldn't find him. He wasn't there. We think he might have been…killed by the M-Geeks."

Every single person in the group cried. Even Fang shed a tear. Gazzy screamed and hollered. "HE IS NOT DEAD! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT HE IS DEAD! WE'RE ARE GOING TO FIND HIM!" Gazzy would wail, but in the back of his mind, he knew they had no idea where Iggy could be.

The group went to a motel and checked in. Their suit had three rooms; one for the girls of the flock; one for the guys of the flock, and one for the Martinez's. The night was full of crying and nobody slept. They had no evidence that Iggy was alive. If only they knew he was coming.

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><p>The next few days in the hospital were torturous. Caroline would come in the room and check Iggy's vital systems and organs. Each time, Caroline would say "Breathing: Fine. Heart rate: Fine. Brain activity: Fine." And so on. <em>Well, if it's all fine, THEN WHY AM I HERE!<em> His mind would scream. Iggy would listen to an MP3 player that he requested all day long. Caroline eventually took all the needles and his oxygen mask away.

After about seven days, all the smoke had cleared out of Iggy's lungs and he was allowed to leave. Looking back on it, the hospital visit was sort of normal. Other than the wings and the questions and the nurses looking at him like he was a freak. But the M-geeks didn't show up. That was about as normal as it got for Iggy. Yeah, his life sucked.

After a full recovery, Iggy was allowed to go back to the flock. It occurred to Iggy that he didn't even know where they were, and that they could be anywhere by now. He was in the hospital lobby when he saw Jeb. "Hey, do you know where the flock is?" he asked Jeb.

Jeb whipped out a small device and pressed a few buttons. "They're in a motel called "Mabry's" in Green Valley, Arizona. Suite 103," he replied. "Do you need help getting to them?"

"No. I have wings," Iggy snapped. Yes, he was still mad at Jeb.

It was a good thing he had an internal compass, or finding his flock would have been a lot harder. He took off outside the hospital and flew to his friends.

He flew for about a half an hour before arriving at the motel. "May I help you?" he asked Iggy in a polite tone.

"Yes, I'm here to see the Martinez's. Suite 103," said Iggy.

"Floor 2," the man said and Iggy climbed the stairs to suite 103. After searching and using brail for 10 minutes he found suite 103. He was anxcious to see them. A week away from his friends felt like forever.

_Knock, knock, knock. _"Delivery for Ms. Ride," Iggy announced. He heard the handle turn and Max's gasp. She hugged him, hard.

"Iggy! You're alive! We thought you were dead! Guys, Iggy's here!" she said very loudly. The flock gathered around and embraced him. All except for Fang and Dylan. Hugging was not manly. Iggy told about his encounter with Jeb and Caroline and the hospital.

"And he asked if Max and Dylan mated? OMG!" said Nudge. Max shot her a threatening look. "Sorry. A new flock member? That would be so awesome! I wonder if this new member would let me do her hair. Because that would be so cool! I hope she's pretty! Then it would be really fun to give her a makeover! If she has brown eyes, I'll use my new purple eye shadow to make her eyes look bigger. I'll also use my brown eyeliner. Or maybe my purple eyeliner to shake things up! I betcha she'll be really nice. Do you think she'll be Iggy's perfect match? I hope so! I wonder what color her wings will be! Do you think they could be blue? Or do they have to be a natural color?" Max put her hand over Nudge's mouth.

"Breath, Nudge."

The night was full of happy tears and hugs. It was more emotion than Max could take in. The flock finally went to bed knowing that they were whole again. Iggy lay in his bed wondering about this new flock member, and whether she existed or not. Little did he know she would be joining them in a short time.

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><p><strong>OMG! Someone added my story to his or her favorite story list! EEP! His or her (yes, I do say that) is IssyRedbird. GO VISIT HER PROFILE. Tell her I sent you so I look good. LUV YA, ISSYREDBIRD! Does the ending of this chapter count as a cliffhanger? REVIEW! Thank you, IssyRedbird.<strong>


	3. A chance

It had been a good three months since Iggy returned to the flock. The idea of a new flock member had been forgotten. Even by Nudge. Iggy figured that Jeb came to the conclusion that a new member would be a bad idea. He still kind of wished that he could have met her. After the fire, Ella and Dr. M had moved into a condo, while the flock went to live in a small abandoned house with three bedrooms and _one bathroom_. That's right. For three months, the flock lived in as close to relaxation as it got. And one day, it all changed for Iggy.

The flock was sitting in the living room watching some fashion show that Nudge had requested. "ARGH! It Burns!" screamed Gazzy. Learning about the importance of hairspray is not exactly Gazzy's good time. "Iggy! I'm going upstairs to build a bomb and regain some pride! Let's Go!" cried Gazzy. Iggy laughed and followed Gazzy. They arrived at the stairs.

Iggy sighed. _Oh, come on. It's only 13 steps! Man up._ Iggy slowly climbed the stairs, counting each one while Gazzy waited at the top. In truth, Gazzy didn't mind at all that Iggy climbed the stairs slowly, but Iggy thought it annoyed everyone.

After Iggy had successfully climbed the stairs, the two went into Gazzy's room to build some sort of bomb.

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><p>Downstairs, Fang and Dylan had already fled the living room due the fashion show. Max was also considering leaving the room, too. But Nudge and Angel seemed to be enjoying it. The doorbell rang and Max rushed to get it (she'd do anything to get away from this stupid show). She turned the knob and opened the door.<p>

She saw Jeb with a worried smile and…an avian-girl standing in back of him. This girl looked about 14 and was 5'7. She was very, very skinny, to a point where it looked unhealthy. Her hair was medium brown and pulled back into a tight ponytail. Her lips were tiny, pink, and frowning. Her eyes were like big brown doe eyes; they looked like she was staring into the headlights of a car that was about to run her over. This girl was wearing and black, oversized T-shirt and very baggy black jeans that must have been held up by a belt. She actually looked sort of average yet pretty.

"Hi, Jeb," said Max unenthusiastically. "What do you want?"

Jeb shot yet another friendly smile at her and gestured to the avian girl. "I'd like you to meet the newest member of the flock. Can I come in?" Jeb walked in without waiting for an answer. But the girl stood there in the doorway, waiting for an answer.

"Um, come inside," said Max politely. The girl nodded and quickly scampered through the door.

Max sat down on the couch next to Nudge, who seemed to be staring at this avian girl. Angel was also staring at the girl, but she looked more like she was concentrating on reading her thoughts. Max turned off the television, so Dylan and Fang came back into the room and sat down on the couch. And Jeb began to speak.

"Guys, this is Bambina. She's going to stay with you guys for a while. If, after a couple weeks, you think it would be good to make her a permanent member, then we'll do just that. Now, her flying might not be the greatest," Jeb couldn't finish because Max dragged him out the door and onto the porch step while Fang and Dylan followed.

"A NEW MEMBER? Are you insane? I can see how you thought this would work because the last time you _inflicted_ another member on us, it worked out just so _freaking _well! If you think she's going to stay with us, you've got another thing coming!" shouted Max.

"Yeah!" continued Fang. "We didn't even want the last new member! What makes you think we'd want this new member?"

Jeb sighed. "You know how Dylan is your perfect match? Bambina is Iggy's perfect match. Since you and Dylan didn't seem to be warming up to each other, we tried again, this time with Iggy. And since Iggy isn't in love with anyone, we are positive this will turn out perfectly."

Max and Fang were speechless. Finally, Max exclaimed, "How dare you do this to somebody again! Do you even have a clue about why it won't work between Dylan and I? Because we were forced on each other! Didn't you think once about how you should let Iggy choose who he wants to love instead of just making someone! Iggy has to love someone who wasn't just made to love him!"

"I think your idea of a perfect match, Jeb, is someone made in a lab that is programmed to love you unconditionally and without a choice. It might be just me, but I don't think that's how it works," said Fang.

Jeb stood there for a minute not knowing what to say. "Give her a month. She deserves that. Bambina has been through a lot. Being rejected by the flock might kill her emotionally. Just give her a chance. You have no idea how important this is to her. The scientists that made her thought they'd dispose of her because of minor mistakes. I asked them of one thing: a chance at survival. If she can't be with you guys, then the lab will dispose of her like trash. Bambina is not trash, and I'm hoping that you will soon realize this, too. All I'm asking for is a month."

This time, Max and Fang didn't know what to say. Inside, they both felt guilty about accusing Jeb of inflicting another member on them, when really, he just wanted her to live. They also felt guilty of almost causing Bambina to be thrown away.

Suddenly, a voice said, "We will give her a chance." It was Nudge standing in the doorway. Apparently, she had been standing behind the door and eavesdropping on their conversation. But she had said what they were all thinking. If anything, Bambina had been through a lot. And, hey, maybe another girl in the flock might not be so bad.

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><p><strong>Hey, guys! It's Midj. I'm SO happy that I got reviews! Shout out to my peeps, <strong>**Gingers rock**** and ****domo-the-brown-monster****. So, I'm going to be gone for til the 17****th**** of June. I promise I'll update when I get back! Love ya! **


	4. First encounter

**Hey, guys! I've been gone for the last couple of days so I'm a little rusty. The real romance happens next chapter, so if I get a lot of reviews, I'll be more motivated to write the next chapter *wink*. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Bambina POV<strong>

I heard the three avian-hybrids who were called Nudge, Max, and Fang re-enter. I heard the springs of the old couch whine as Nudge, Max, and Fang sat down. The youngest avian-hybrid, Angel, was able to read my mind and figured out what my confidential secret was before I even spoke. She sent me a message.

"I will help you if you would like," Angel thought to me. I was taken aback by her willingness to help me keep my secret.

"What are the conditions?" I thought back, trying to find out what she wanted.

"No conditions. I will inform you of your surroundings when needed. Okay?" Angel thought back.

I silently nodded to Angel and I couldn't even put my thankfulness into thoughts. I silently asked Angel to keep our deal a secret and she agreed. This took a huge weight off of my shoulders; I didn't have to worry about my surroundings for the first time in my life.

I snapped out of my thoughts when a voice began to introduce herself. "I'm Max. Uh, so I'm the leader of the flock. That's Fang. That's Dylan. That's Nudge. And that's Angel." Angel told me whom Max was pointing to. Apparently, Max was sitting in the middle of the couch; Fang was sitting in the left end of the couch; Dylan was sitting in a large chair in the corner; Nudge was sitting next to Max; and Angel was sitting on the floor near the television. She also told me to look a little to the right and a little forwards so I could look towards Max.

Then it hit me. Iggy's name wasn't mentioned. Where was Iggy? Angel told me Iggy was upstairs with another avian-hybrid named the Gasman. Funny name.

"Hello, my name is Bambina. It is very nice to meet you all. Thank you for temporarily accepting me into your flock. I am looking forward to familiarizing you all. May I please go upstairs to meet the other members of the flock?" I asked quietly. The members of the flock had to lean in to hear me.

"Uh, sure," answered Max.

I walked over to the stairs and stopped suddenly. _Angel, how many stairs are there?_

Angel replied _thirteen._

Half way up the stairs, I heard Max ask, "How did she know that Iggy and Gazzy were upstairs?" And all I could do was keep climbing and hope that Angel wouldn't expose me. I prayed that she would just shrug and they would just forget about it.

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><p>I reached the top of the stairs and heard noises from a nearby room to my left. I knocked on the door and heard the hinges creak as the door opened. "Whoa. Iggy, hottie on deck." I heard the person smooth his hair back. "Come in."<p>

_This must be the Gasman. What did they call him for short? Gazzy? Gassy? I think its Gazzy. What a peculiar name. _

I tried to use my echolocation, but that was only slightly effective. There was a bed, a nightstand, a desk, and a bunch of little pieces on the floor. Iggy was sitting next to the little pieces, and Gazzy stood next to me. I tried to imagine what Iggy looked like. I imagined him having light brown hair and brown eyes, like me. I sat down on the bed. "My name is Bambina. I hope to be a new member of the flock, but that is up to Max. It is nice to meet you." I tried looking at Gazzy, but I had no idea if I was or not. "May I sit down and observe your bomb-making?"

"Um, sure. I'm Iggy. And you just met Gazzy. Yeah, we're trying to make a bomb," answered Iggy. His voice was warm and comforting, just as I imagined. If Jeb's plan works out, I'll be with Iggy and the happiest girl alive.

I pretended to watch intently, because I couldn't really watch. I heard the two boys talk about their design and every so often they'd ask me for input on their design. Gazzy seemed to enjoy having me there, but Iggy was a bit suspicious. I had wanted him accept me right away, but that was somewhat impossible. I wondered if he knew about how I was his perfect match. Now that I think about it, he probably did.

After a couple hours of watching, it was almost 10 o' clock. Max decided I would share a room with Angel. This was good, because Angel would be able to inform me of my environment. She also told me that Iggy was actually glad I was here. My heart swelled with joy at the mere thought of Iggy being mine. I fell asleep while daydreaming about Iggy and my honeymoon.

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><p><strong>Have you guessed Bambina's secret yet? If you haven't, just read this again because I made it kind of obvious. Okay, so Bambina already knows a lot about Iggy. More on that later. Did you enjoy the little look into Bambina's mind?<strong>


	5. In good hands

Max watched Bambina for only two weeks before she began to notice the connection between Bambina and Iggy. He seemed to smile when she was near. He asked her to help cook. They talked for hours on end, mostly about bombs or cooking or music. Turns out they both love music. They both hated television. They both love bombs. The list of things they had in common was growing rapidly. But Max was suspicious of this girl. Bambina was not normal, even for an avian-hybrid. She didn't act right, or talk normally. Bambina used big words and knew everything. The worst part was that the others accepted her immediately. Then it hit Max. Her position of leader was being threatened…again. Max refused to get to know Bambina and avoided her at all costs.

Nudge loved Bambina. This was funny because Nudge talks nonstop and Bambina didn't talk much (she talked to Iggy a lot. Otherwise she was quiet). Gazzy loved Bambina. He had formed a little child-crush on her. Gazzy called her 'sweet thang' and 'doll face.' Fang warmed up to Bambina. Her quietness seemed to comfort him. Dylan liked Bambina. There sense of humor was similar. Angel and Bambina shared a special bond, like sisters. The flock seemed to enjoy having her. Well, all but one of the flock. The closer the flock got to Bambina, the colder Max became to Bambina. But two weeks after Bambina's arrival, Max came to like Bambina.

Iggy and Gazzy had finished their bomb and everyone came to watch it explode at a nearby field. Gazzy told everyone that this was their biggest and most fiery explosion ever. Gazzy set the bomb so it would explode in ten minutes, then he ran out into the field. He ran back and join the anxious group. The seconds ticked away, but they felt more like hours. Iggy could only imagine the huge explosion.

Five seconds left…four seconds left…three seconds left… two seconds left…one second left…**KA-BOOM!**

It was magnificent. It was beautiful. A huge cloud of smoke and fire went up. They all stood in awe. All but Iggy. Iggy remembered the day of the fire. He remembered how he almost died. _Fire! It's going to get out of control! This time I'm really going to die! Put it out! The field is going to catch on fire and we're going to die! I don't want to die!_ Iggy thought in horror. He smelled the awful smell of smoke. The others noticed him backing away slowly, and, in addition to that, he was shaking.

"Iggy? You okay?" asked Fang. But he knew Iggy was not okay. Iggy was so scared.

Until he noticed the others staring at him, causing him to feel humiliated. He spread his wings and flew off, feeling totally embarrassed.

Max and Bambina both spread their wings at the same time. Max scowled at Bambina and told her to stay here. This did not sit well with Bambina.

"Look, Max! Iggy's my friend, too. And I'm going to help him and I don't care if you don't want me to come!" Then Bambina slapped her hand over her own mouth, realizing she may have just destroyed her chances of becoming a permanent member of the flock. "Max, I'm sorry. It's just...just...I, uh...you..."

Max raised an eyebrow, but then said, "Come on. If we're to find Iggy, we have to fly now."

Bambina smiled and the two of them flew off. Max scanned the woods while Bambina used her echolocation, but she wasn't very good at echolocation. Finally, Max spotted Iggy in a tree. They softly landed when Max asked, "Iggy, what happened?"

"I donno," he answered staring up towards the sky. "It was just...I donno. Can we just forget about it?"

"No, we can't. Tell us what happened," said Max. Bambina stood behind her and silently agreed with Max.

"I told you I donno. I got a little freaked out. That's it. End of story," Iggy snapped.

Max stomped her foot and snapped back, "No! Not end of story! You've never been scared of fire! Iggy, I don't..."

But Bambina interrupted her. "Max, I got this. You can go back if you want." Max stood in awe, staring at Bambina. Eventually, Max walked away, and hid behind a tree to watch. She watched as Bambina climbed the tree in which Iggy sat. Bambina sat down very close to Iggy and said, "It's okay to be scared. Nobody thinks any less of you. We're all scared of something. I'm scared of M-Geeks. You're scared of fire. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's totally fine."

"Yeah, but this is different. I love fire. It's like my thing. I can't be afraid of it. Gazzy and I were like...Gazzy! What will he think? We make bombs like 24/7. I don't think..." Bambina interrupted again.

"I think you're just traumatized by the fire," offered Bambina.

"How did you know about the fire?" asked Iggy.

Max was also wondering this too. But she was also wondering how Bambina was getting Iggy to spill his feelings to her. Max was never able to do this. And Bambina could do it so easily. Their list of differences was going on and on.

"Um, Angel told me. Plus, you had a burn on your wing," answered Bambina. "Gazzy won't mind at all. Like I said, nobody thinks any less of you."

Max had heard enough of the conversation. She walked until she was out of earshot. Then she spread her wings and flew to the flock. When they asked what happened and how Iggy was, she told them that he was fine, and he was in good hands.

**Why does this sound like a five-year-old wrote it? Oh, right. I have a tiny case of writers block...eh. The doctors said the only way to cure my writer's block was to have a large dose of reviews. Chapter six is coming.**


	6. Blind

It had been a couple days since the bomb scare. Bambina was laying on her bed while Nudge was telling her about Taylor Lautner. Bambina was just nodding while really she was not absorbing any of Nudge's information. Nudge left to go get her magazines, when Iggy entered. He sat down next to her and gave her a warm smile. "So has Nudge bored you to death yet?"

"Not really. She's really sweet. But yes, Taylor Lautner bores me," answered Bambina.

Iggy laughed. "Hey. I've been meaning to ask you this. Um, what do I look like?" asked Iggy. "I can't look in a mirror, and you can see me. So I was thinking you could just describe how I look."

Bambina started to panic. She didn't know what Iggy looked like! The first thing that came into Bambina's mind was "lie." But she couldn't lie to Iggy. So the truth came out.

"I don't know," said Bambina flatly. She could imagine Iggy's confusion.

"I mean you could just say like my features. It can't be that bad," Iggy explained.

Bambina felt tears coming to her eyes. "Iggy, I don't know. I can't tell you."

A long, horrible silence followed; it scraped at Bambina's sanity. Finally, Iggy spoke. "How can you not know? I'm standing right here. I don't care if I'm ugly. Just tell me."

Bambina wanted desperately to tell Iggy he was gorgeous. But she honestly, genuinely, truly didn't know. "I'm sorry, Iggy."

She heard Iggy stomp out, then dropped to the ground and sobbed. She cried and cried until Nudge walked in.

"Bambina? Are you okay? Was it something I did?" asked Nudge innocently. The mere thought of Nudge thinking this was her fault made Bambina grind her teeth.

"No, it was something I did. Nudge, Iggy asked me to tell him what he looked like."

"What did you say?" asked Nudge.

Bambina didn't answer for a while. "I told him I don't know, because I don't."

"How do you not know?" Nudge asked.

Bambina didn't know what to do. She didn't want Nudge to be mad at her like Iggy was. So the truth, the whole truth, came out. "I'm blind."

Bambina heard Nudge gasp. The secret was out. And Bambina couldn't take it back. "Does Iggy know?" asked Nudge. "You have to tell him! Or should I tell him? No, you should tell him. Do you want me to tell the flock? That would be okay, I think."

Bambina interrupted...again. "I'll tell Iggy now. I'm not going down to eat dinner so you tell the flock then."

"Why aren't you going to eat dinner? You're already too skinny."

"I just don't think I should be there when you tell them. Okay?"

Nudge nodded. After a couple minutes, Nudge was back to telling Bambina about Taylor Lautner. But Nudge was not as into it; she had too much on her mind.

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><p>It was nearing dinnertime and Bambina was nervous. She imagined the reaction of the flock. She imagined the shock, horror, disgust, and sadness. Max would definitely not let her in the flock, now. Two blind people were too much. But the flock needed to know.<p>

Bambina stood in front of the bathroom mirror, trying as hard as she could to see herself. It was a foolish thing to do, really. But this was the first time in her life she wanted to know. Back in the laboratory, looks didn't matter, survival did. Now, after listening to Nudge go on and on and on about looks, Bambina wondered. She clenched her teeth and opened her eyes very wide. Eventually she gave up, and walked out the bathroom door. She wasn't really paying attention to the sounds around her and bumped into someone. "Oh, uh, sorry," said Iggy.

"Iggy, can I talk to you, alone?" asked Bambina. It was confrontation time.

"Uh, sure," replied Iggy.

Bambina took his wrist and pulled Iggy to her room. "Iggy, I'm _so_ sorry! You're not ugly to me. But I honestly have no clue what you look like! Really, I swear I don't! I can't see you! I'm just like you; blind!" It all just came out of her mouth so fast that it was very hard to understand.

There was a long and painful silence. At last, Iggy whispered softly, "Blind?"

"Yeah, blind," answered Bambina. Iggy sat down and put his head in his hands.

"Lab accident?" asked Iggy.

Iggy tried to imagine what happened to himself happening to Bambina. He cringed when he thought of the pain the laboratory accident caused. The thought of the exact same thing happening to Bambina was agonizing. Hadn't those stupid scientists learned how to perform eye surgery yet?

"Lab accident? No, I was _made_ to be blind," answered Bambina.

Iggy felt like he had been kicked in the stomach. _Made to be blind? The whitecoats did this on purpose?_ Iggy thought. "It wasn't a mistake? They wanted you to be blind? They put you through this intentionally?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's not really a huge deal. Its not something you need to be upset about," said Bambina calmly.

Iggy filled with rage at these words. _How could she possibly be okay with this! They made her blind!_Then, he did something totally out of character. Iggy punched the dry wall, leaving a large dent. "Bambina, they made you blind! Blind! I lived with blindness for a long time! Since I was like five! And it sucks eggs! I will never be able to forgive them, and it was an accident! The fact that they did this to you ON PURPOSE makes it all the more unforgivable! How could you be okay with that! You have to live with that until the day you die! And so will I!" screamed Iggy.

He heard Bambina sob quietly. "Iggy, please stop yelling. Max will hear you. I don't want her to hear you upset like this. She won't let me stay because I made you upset. Please Iggy."

Iggy's heart broke at the sound of her crying. Before he could stop himself, Iggy wrapped his arms around Bambina and pulled her close. The two sat there in silence. Iggy's anger fizzled; Bambina's sadness went away.

"Wait, why did they make you blind?" asked Iggy quietly.

Bambina inhaled. Iggy was not going to enjoy hearing this. "They thought you would like me more."

Iggy froze. "Its...my fault."

**This chapter sucked. Like really sucked. CURSE YOU WRITERS BLOCK! I'm banging my head on my desk. ERRRRGG! I hate this chapter! Just tell me if I should rewrite it. Erg...this chapter needs to explode.**


	7. My fault

**Hey guys. Errg. My last chapter made me want to punch my monitor. THIS CHAPTER WILL BE BETTER! I hope.**

Right when Bambina heard Iggy say it was his fault, her heart sunk. _How could he blame himself?_ "Iggy, no. I will not let you blame yourself. I forbid you to blame yourself!" Bambina pulled away and stood up, leaning over Iggy. "Me being blind is NOT, and I repeat NOT, your fault and it is outrageous that you would even think that."

Iggy ripped his hands through his hair, ignoring everything that Bambina said. "It's my fault. You're blind because of me."

"Did you not just hear me say that I will not let you hold yourself responsible for my blindness! It. Is. Not. Your. Fault. DO YOU HEAR WHAT I AM SAYING!"

Iggy shook his head. "They did this to you because of me. How is that not my fault?"

Bambina could not believe her ears. "It isn't! It just isn't!"

Iggy stood up and grabbed Bambina's shoulders. "They made you blind thinking it would please me."

"They wouldn't have made me at all if it hadn't been for you. Okay, I admit it! It's your fault that I'm alive!"

Iggy stopped arguing. It was true; Bambina wouldn't be alive if Iggy hadn't been alive. Iggy gave up and smiled.

"So, are you going to tell the flock?" asked Iggy.

"No, Nudge is going to tell them tonight," Bambina sighed; sadness was in her voice.

Iggy, as we all know, has an amazing sense of hearing and heard the sadness. "What's wrong?"

"I don't think Max will let me stay in the flock. I mean, I know she doesn't like me, and plus I'm blind, so..."

"If she kicks you out of the flock, then I'll leave too. With you. Sound good?" Iggy put his hands on her shoulders. Little tingles went down her spine.

"Yes, that sounds pretty good."

_Am I about to kiss her? Right after an argument? _Thought Iggy. A little voice in his head (who was probably Angel) answered, _Heck, yeah, you are!_

So, Iggy leaned in and, the moment their lips touched, Nudge walked in.

* * *

><p>Bambina pulled away from Iggy and stared at Nudge in horror. Nudge, on the other hand, beamed and before anyone could stop her, ran down the hall and screamed, "IGGY AND BAMBINA WERE MAKING OUT! EMIGOD, THEY WERE ALL OVER EACHOTHER!"<p>

Bambina raced after her and said, "We were not making out! We were just kissing!"

Iggy smiled and wished his kiss had gone on a little longer. He remembered how her lips were so soft and her embrace made him feel so warm. He heard Angel singing "Iggy and Bambina sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!" but he didn't care. Iggy kind of liked the sound of that. Then it hit him. Nudge. Wasn't she supposed to tell the flock?

Iggy ran down the hall and into Nudge's room.

**Sorry, guys. This was pretty short. I am going tp camp but I'm not sure I'll have Wi-fi. LUV YA!**

**P.S. Where did my reviewer, Laura E. Stacy, go?**


	8. Gone

**HELLO READERS! I am back from camp! I know you must be mad at me for leaving right after a huge part in the story, but this will be the best chapter ever.**

Iggy ran down the hall, listening hard, trying to find Nudge. Finally, her voice rang through. She was giggling.

Iggy ran into Nudge's room to find her and Angel. They were talking about what how Iggy and Bambina were kissing._ Why can't they let that go? _

"Hey, Nudge, can I talk to you, alone?" Iggy asked. "Angel, that means you can't listen, not even telepathically."

Nudge nodded, stood, and walked out of the room with Iggy. Iggy stood in the hallway with Nudge. "When you tell everyone tonight at dinner about Bambina, tell them that we are...you know...together."

Nudge squealed and clapped her hands and even bounced up and down. "Emigod! You two are the cutest couple ever! I was thinking that..." Then Iggy interrupted.

"Would you turn the volume down?" Iggy whispered sharply.

Nudge nodded, turned on her heals, and bounced into her room.

Iggy walked into Bambina's room. He was able to hear Bambina's breathing and was able to tell she laying on her bed. _Is that weird?_

"Um...hi," said Iggy nervously. "I guess we were kinda interrupted."

"Yeah. So, where were we again? I forget," Bambina asked playfully.

Iggy sat down on the bed next to her and replied, "Uh...we were kissing and then Nudge came in."

Bambina nodded. "I think we'd should pick up where we left off." And she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. At first, Iggy was shocked. Completely shocked. But it wasn't long before he was lost in the kiss. Bambina slung her arms around his neck. Iggy put his hands on her hips.

_This is amazing, _thought Iggy.

_Aw! You guys are so cute!_ Iggy heard a message from Angel. But he ignored it.

The two broke apart when they heard Max call them to dinner. "I don't know about you, but I say we go eat some dinner," said Bambina.

They both swallowed their fear and hopped down the stairs, holding hands, happily in love.

Nudge actually didn't announce Bambina's blindness. Bambina did. And she told them about her and Iggy. It seemed like Max was okay with Bambina's blindness, and she laughed a little when Bambina announced Her and Iggy's relationship. Fang laughed too. Everybody laughed, which made Iggy blush. It all seemed pretty good.

If only the story ended here. If only it was over and everybody lived happily ever after. If only it were that simple.

* * *

><p>It was the day Jeb came to hear Max's answer. Iggy woke up, ready for Max to say yes. He hopped down the stairs, but the sight was not one he expected. Angel and Nudge were hugging and crying. Max was nowhere to be seen. Gazzy had tears in his eyes. Two huge men were holding Dylan and Fang back. Bambina was gone.<p>

Max ran into the room, only to be screamed at by Iggy.

"You said no! Max, how could you! I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS! I HATE YOU!" screamed Iggy at Max.

"Iggy, I didn't say no! They took her!" Max cried out.

**Wow. Holy Crap. They took Bambina. Pretty good chapter.**


	9. Heartbroken

**Hey, guys! This chapter will be MUSHY! The suspense is coming!**

_She is gone. Ripped away from my grasp. And it's Max's fault. I know Max is lying when she says she didn't say no. I knew Max didn't like Bambina that much. But I didn't know she hated her so much that Max would rip us apart. I hate Max. I hate her so much. She did this to me. Max took Bambina away from me. Just when I thought my life was perfect._ _Bambina was finally all mine. All I wanted. All I needed. She was perfect for me. Max knew I loved her. And I bet she never even took that into consideration. She just went ahead and said no. _

Really Max had not said no. In fact, Max hadn't had a chance to say yes. They didn't ask. A group of huge men just grabbed Bambina and left. But they did manage to smack the flock around a little.

Max insisted she hadn't sent Bambina away. She told Iggy over and over. But he never believed her. He would just say, "Max, stop lying. I know you did this." And that would be the end of it.

Three days after the Bambina was taken, Max decided to try one more time to convince Iggy that she hadn't said no. She climbed the stairs and tiptoed into Iggy's room. The scene was completely heartbreaking.

Iggy was curled up on the bed, not even under the blankets, holding his stomach, and fighting back tears. His eyes were staring into nothingness, but they were filled with devastation and sadness. His legs were pulled up to his chest.

"Who is it?" he asked, but it didn't sound like Iggy.

Max sighed, "It's me. I have to talk to you."

Iggy sat up. "Max, I don't think you should be talking to me. You know what you did. And lying to my face will only make this hurt more. I think it's better if you leave me alone."

"No, Iggy. I'm not lying! They took her without even asking me if she should stay in the flock. You know deep down that I would never ever split you two up. You know that my answer to them would be yes without hesitation. I care way to much about you to do that."

It was true. Taking Bambina away from him seemed like something Max wouldn't dare to do. "I want her back so much. It hurts so much. I keep thinking she's going to come back."

"I know, Iggy. We're all hurting. Even me. It hurts to see you like this," Max paused for a moment. "Gazzy asked me this morning if you were going to be okay. I had to tell him that I didn't know."

Iggy didn't know what to say. It took him a couple minutes to come up with a reply. "You should know that I'll be okay."

Nobody spoke. Max felt tears swimming in her eyes, but she blinked them away. She had to be strong for Iggy. "She loved you, ya' know. I could tell. You guys reminded me of...never mind."

"What did it remind you of?" asked Iggy.

Max hesitated, but eventually spoke. "You two reminded me of Fang and I."

Iggy fell silent...again. He spoke slowly, "Let's go find her. Let's go take her back. Bambina is mine."

"Iggy, we have no idea where she is. How do you think we'll find her?"

"Call Jeb. Now," said Iggy.

To be honest, Max didn't know why she hadn't thought of that before. If anyone was going to tell them where Bambina was, it was Jeb.

* * *

><p>Max dialed Jeb's number and soon enough, his voice rang through.<p>

"Hello?" said Jeb.

"Jeb, a bunch of huge dudes took Bambina without giving us any explanation of what's going on and if you don't give us some answers, I will kick your sorry ass," said Max into the phone.

Jeb hesitated. "I'll be over soon."

"And, Jeb?"

"Yes, Max?"

"You know we're going to go get her back, right?" said Max.

"Yeah, Max. I expected that."

* * *

><p>Jeb rang the doorbell, and Gazzy answered the door. Jeb smiled faintly, but Gazzy just narrowed his eyes and said, "Come in."<p>

Gazzy led Jed into the living room, where the rest of the flock stood, arms crossed, glaring at Jeb.

Max spoke first, "Either you tell us all we want to know, or..."

"Yes, yes, I know, you'll whip my sorry ass," said Jeb.

"Don't interrupt me. Now, why did they take Bambina? I want a straight answer," Max growled.

"They took Bambina because my bosses thought there were to many design flaws and decided it was better to just retire her."

"RETIRE HER!" Iggy screamed. He grabbed Jeb by the collar or his shirt and lifted Jeb a little off the ground. "THEY KILLED HER! IS SHE DEAD!"

"No. At least, not yet," said Jeb calmly.

"Where is she?" Iggy snarled.

Jeb paused. "She's on a boat heading to our base."

"And where is that?" asked Dylan.

"On the west coast of Australia." answered Jeb.

**So, one of my reviewers, bsfoas, thought this story was going to be discontinued. No way! I was just away for the week. I promise I am going to finish this story!**


	10. Captured

**Woo! Chapter 10!**

"AUSTRALIA! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!" roared Iggy.

"No, Iggy, I'm not kidding," replied Jeb.

Iggy set Jeb down. "That's like a 4 day flight!"

"Fortunately, boating to Australia takes a very long time. Oh, by the way, thanks for putting me down," explained Jeb.

Iggy nodded and stepped back. "Why are they on a boat and not just taking a stupid plane?"

"Bambina can fly and would easily escape from the airplane. Bambina is being held in the bilge so escaping is significantly harder," answered Jeb. He seemed to be very calm.

Iggy nodded.

"So, lets pack some supplies. We leave tomorrow," announced Max.

"Oh, and Max?" said Jeb. "The crew of the ship consists of M-Geeks and well trained soldiers."

Max simply nodded and let that bit of information sink in.

* * *

><p>Bambina awoke in a cage in a wet and musty room. She felt the rocking of the tides and immediately knew she was on a ship. The cage was a little small and the rocking made her feel queasy. <em>Where am I?<em>

"Hello? Is anyone there? Iggy?" Bambina called out. But nobody answered. _Where is Iggy? _

Then, like a pile of rocks, it hit her. She remembered being taken from the house, and being wrestled into the cage, then being shot with a sedative. She also remembered the M-Geeks and thugs fighting her flock. Gawd, she hoped they were all right.

She heard the door hinges whine as the door opened. Bambina sniffed and smelled the familiar scent of sweat and man. She clicked her tongue, trying to use her echolocation (which she wasn't very good at), and knew a huge man was approaching her cage.

"Hello, bird kid," the man hissed. "I'm taking you to your death."

Bambina summoned some spit and hawked it right in the man's face. _Show no fear!_ She thought. The man wiped the spit off his cheek, reached in the cage, and slapped Bambina. It left a white, hand-shaped mark on her cheek. It stung like crazy, but Bambina remembered not to show fear or pain.

The man left, leaving Bambina alone. She held her cheek and curled up in a ball. It was so lonely and depressing in the cage. It dawned on her that she would never see Iggy or Nudge or Angel or Gazzy ever again. Tears threatened to fall over her eyelids, but she blinked them away, still determined to show no fear or pain.

Her stomach growled. Bambina wrapped his arms around her belly. She was really hungry. Did the people on this freaking boat plan on feeding her? Probably not. Bambina felt around the cage just in case there was a doggy bowl full of some sort of food. But there wasn't. Damn. She was so hungry.

Bambina sat there for hours trying not to cry or scream or throw up. She wanted to go home and be with Iggy.

The door opened again. Bambina scooted towards the back of the cage and tried to use her echolocation. It didn't work as well this time, but she was able to make out a person, smaller than the last. _It's an M-Geek!_

But it wasn't an M-Geek. "Uh, I'm going to be supervising you. So, uh, be good."

It was the voice of a boy. A young boy, maybe 18 years old.

"Who are you?" asked Bambina quietly.

"I'm Bryce. This is my dad's boat. I, uh, am in training."

Bambina nodded. She smelled the strong scent of turkey. The kid must have been eating some. Bambina's stomach growled really loud.

Bryce looked down at poor, starving Bambina and felt bad. He grabbed a chunk off his turkey leg and handed it to Bambina. She gobbled it down in seconds, and her stomach seemed satisfied. "Thank you, Bryce," said Bambina.

"Uh, you're welcome. You know I'm not really supposed to do that. In fact, I could get in huge trouble."

Bambina nodded sadly, but was still grateful. "Hey, Bryce? Where am I and where am I going?"

"I'm really not supposed to tell you that," explained Bryce.

"Please! It's not like I can do anything with that information anyway."

Bryce paused and considered this. "We're on my father's ship somewhere in the Pacific ocean. And we're going to the company headquarters in Australia."

"Oh. Thanks."

_So we're going to Australia. That is odd, considering how long the journey will be. Why didn't they just freaking kill me the first chance they had? _


	11. Author's note

**Dear readers, **

**I'm going to be gone for a week, and I will have no access to Wi-Fi. This story is not discontinued. I will update when I get back. I promise. Luv ya! Buh bye! THIS STORY IS NOT OVER!**

**Love,**

**Midj.59**

**P.S. Go check out the story Lavender Heart  by St. Yves-Alaska! AWESOME STORY! :)**


	12. Beginning of the Journey

**I'm back! YAY! Onto the chapter!**

After three days or so, Bambina was certain she had made a friend. Everyday, Bryce would sit with Bambina and the two of them would talk. Bryce spoke of life at sea, his duties, his mother and sister back home, and his father. Bambina talked about her flock, her home back in Arizona, and Iggy.

Bryce would also eat all his meals with Bambina and always gave her half. As you can imagine, the food was served to her by the ship's crew was absolutely gross and possibly inedible. So, Bryce decided he would just give her half. _If the ship's crew doesn't kill me, the food they serve me will,_ thought Bambina.

But even the amazing kindness of Bryce wasn't enough to keep the awful pain away. Deep down, Bambina knew there was no way out of this. She knew her life was coming to an end very soon. She knew she would never see her friends again. Bambina knew that she would never see Iggy again. She would never again be in his embrace, never again feel his soft lips on hers, never again. Bambina would curl up in her dog cage and try to tolerate the agony. Bryce would find her everyday crying or quietly screaming. Once, when she screamed a little too loudly, the captain came in and slapped her.

It hurt Bryce to always see Bambina crying. He wished there was something to ease the pain. When he did see her crying, Bryce would lean up against the cage, reach in, and hold Bambina's hand, trying to help her cry. The crying would go on for about a half an hour, but it seemed longer. When the crying came to an end, Bambina whispered to Bryce a small thank you and squeeze his hand. Bryce would nod and tell her that it was fine.

* * *

><p>Iggy packed a backpack full of essentials and walked downstairs. It was the day the flock began their rescue mission. Max reminded everyone of their stop in Paris. That was all that was said. Over the last couple days, the flock had been planning the mission nonstop. Now, there was nothing left to say. So, the flock went to the backyard in silence. It was so early that the sun had not come up yet. Iggy spread his wings and took off.<p>

Iggy hadn't flown in a while and it felt good to stretch his wings. He felt the moist clouds on his clothes. The wind brushed his skin and rushed through his hair. The sensation was amazing, even though he couldn't see it. It felt like nothing else in the world. _Nothing could ever compare to this, _thought Iggy. _Well, one thing._ And that one thing was kissing Bambina. Nothing ever compared to that for Iggy.

_We'll find her, Iggy, _thought Angel to Iggy.

_Stop invading my privacy, Angel! It's annoying. Go invade someone else's privacy, _thought Iggy in a harsh tone.

Angel didn't think back to him, and Iggy felt guilty for snapping at her. He was just tired and miserable.

The younger members of the flock complained about how their wings hurt, but Iggy kept telling them to suck it up and keep going.

The flock flew for about 6 hours until Iggy agreed it was time to land. Turns out, they were in southern Newfoundland. And in Newfoundland, even in the summer, it is chilly. The flock landed in a forest and set up a tiny camp and built a fire. Iggy dug through his backpack and got his jacket, as did the rest of the flock. Max took a package of hotdogs out of her backpack. She tossed one to each member of the flock. They impaled the hotdogs with sticks and cooked them over the fire. Delicious? No. Easy to make under the conditions? Yes. They ate in silence, savoring the juicy meat. When it became late, everyone but Max fell asleep around the fire. Max stayed awake to keep watch.

Late at night, Max began to drift off, only to be awoken by Fang.

"You awake?" asked Fang.

"I am now," replied Max bitterly. "What is it?"

Fang crawled over and sat down next to her. "How are we going to find Bambina? All we know is that she is anywhere on the west coast of Australia."

Max sighed. "I have no idea how we are going to find her. But we have to. Have you seen Iggy lately?"

Fang nodded. "It's starting to scare me. The way he's acting. He barely talks, and that is not ordinary."

There was a long pause. Max finally spoke. "We need to get her back. For Iggy's sake."

Fang agreed and pulled Max close. She fell asleep and Fang took over watching.

Fang had lied a little bit. It was not scaring him; it was terrifying him. Iggy was not Iggy anymore. He barely talked to anyone, not even Gazzy. When he did talk, his voice was heartbreaking. His eyes were sad, even when he smiled, even when he laughed. **(It sounds like that one Eminem song O.o)** Fang knew they had to find Bambina. They just had to. Even if they didn't knew where she was.

**YAAAAAAYYYY! Did you miss me? I missed you! GO READ ****LAVENDER HEART**** by St. Yves-Alaska! **


	13. Storm

**I made a poll! Go vote!**

Iggy woke the flock very early in the morning. "Yo, guys! We gotta go make up for lost time!"

Nudge sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Iggy, it's like 5 AM."

"Yeah, it's 5! We've lost..." Iggy glanced at his watch, "seven hours!"

Nudge and the rest of the flock got to their feet with a chorus of yawns. They spread their wings and took off. It was still dark, and sort of cold. Iggy pulled his jacket around himself tightly. It didn't help much. A couple hours later, little droplets of water fell from the sky and the wind blew harder. Thunder boomed and, even though he couldn't see it, the lightning scared Iggy a little. He heard little shouts coming from Max telling them to land.

The flock landed and ran into an empty cave. Iggy pulled off his soaking jacket and sat on the ground. Then it hit him. Where were they?

"Does anyone know where we are? Because I have no clue," asked Iggy.

"Uh, judging by the cave, I think we're in Berlengas," said Dylan. Everyone stared at her with confused faces. "It's a group of islands off the coast of Portugal."

"So, I guess we wait 'til the storm lets up," said Max.

Iggy stood. "No, we leave now. We have to go; we're losing time."

"Iggy, I know you miss Bambina, but let's think logically. If we go out in that storm, we could die," explained Angel.

"And if we don't, Bambina will die," growled Iggy.

Max stood and gave him a very intimidating face. "Look, Iggy. We are NOT going out in that storm. Jeb said we still have time."

Iggy stood on his toes and towered over Max. "I'm leaving...with or without the flock."

Max stood there in utter shock as Iggy turned his back to her and gathered everything into his backpack. _Is Iggy kidding? He has to be kidding! This is insane!_ thought Max. She clenched her fists and stomped over to Iggy. "Look, here, buddy! I'm the leader of this flock and what I say goes!"

Iggy turned to face Max. His expression was quite scary. "Max, I do not care what you think at this point in time. I'm going to find Bambina, now, no matter what."

"Max, you won't like this. But I'm going, too," said Nudge.

Max stared, taken aback from Nudge's announcement. "Nudge, Iggy...ARE YOU TWO OUT OF YOUR MIND! You're going to be killed! Now, I am the leader of this flock and..." Iggy interrupted.

"I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE LEADER! I AM SO SICK OF YOU ALWAYS THINKING YOU CAN JUST BOSS US AROUND! YOU AREN'T BETTER THAN ME, MAX! I'D REALLY APPRECIATE IT IF YOU WOULD JUST GET OUT OF MY FACE AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" yelled Iggy.

Fang stepped in front of Max and clenched his fists. Max stared at him for at least a minute with a sad pair of eyes. Dylan stood and tried to calm everyone down by saying, "Guys, chill," which only makes people angrier.

"Shut up, Dylan. I'm just going to go. See ya'," said Iggy angrily. And with that, Iggy stomped toward the cave entry with Nudge closely behind him.

"Wait, guys, I want to go, too," said Gazzy, who stood and rushed over to Iggy and Nudge.

"If Gazzy's going then I want to go," said Angel, and she scurried over and joined them.

Max could barely believe this. They were going to risk their lives for a girl they met just a month ago. They were going to get themselves killed just because they think it will help them find Bambina. It was madness to her. Pure madness. _Are they even looking at this storm?_ As if on queue **(Whenever I look at the word "queue, I think QUEEUEEUEEUEE!)**, lightning struck just outside the cave.

Max made a decision. "If this is what you guys think is what we should do, and if this is what most of us are going to do, I'm going with you."

Iggy smiled. Max, Fang, and Dylan went to join the rest of the flock, and they flew off into the storm.

* * *

><p>Bambina sat inside her cage, waiting for Bryce to come with food, when the door opened. Thinking it was Bryce, Bambina sat up a little and said, "Hey."<p>

But it was not Bryce; it was the chef. "Hello, little freak, I'm here to give you this."

A small bowl of who-knows-what was thrown into the cage, and it spilled a little and splattered on her shirt. She heard the chef cackle her evil cackle and prance out the door. Moments later, Bryce walked in.

"Whoa, what happened to you?" asked Bryce, observing the mystery meat all over her shirt.

"The chef thought it would be hilarious if she threw the bowl of **[insert bad word here] **at me. I wish I could get out of this stupid cage and beat her senseless."

Bryce nodded and handed her a bowl of tomato soup and a spoon. Bambina handed the spoon back and put her lips to the side of the bowl, pouring the soup into her mouth.

As she drank Bryce said, "Remember not to sass them, or you'll be getting a lot worse than **[insert same bad word here] **on your shirt."

Bambina nodded. After just a few minutes, the soup was gone. Bambina licked her lips in case there was some soup on them. There wasn't.

"Okay," muttered Bambina. "Are they serving dessert?"

Bryce laughed. "Yeah, it's pudding. I'll go get some."

"Oh, yes, please!"

**If you couldn't tell, I was trying to be clean, even though the dialogue kind of called for it. So yeah. Go review this chapter, and when you are done with that, go vote on my poll, then read Lavender Heart by St. Yves-Alaska! See, I have the rest of the day all mapped out for you guys! Haha!**


	14. Party

**ATTENTION! ATTENTION! GO VOTE ON MY POLL! GO TO MY PROFILE AND LOOK AT THE QUESTION! CLICK THE THING THAT SAYS VOTE NOW! LOOK AT ALL THE CHOICES OF WHAT STORY I SHOULD WRITE AFTER BEAUTIFUL EYES! CLICK THE ONE YOU WANT! If you do this, I will give you a metaphorical cookie...on with the chapter.**

* * *

><p>The flock flew through the storm with extreme difficulty. The high winds flung them around, while the rain soaked them. The lightning was terrifying and getting close. Max led the way, with Iggy holding onto her belt loop. Fang was close behind him, then Gazzy, then Nudge, then Angel. Nudge held back on the complaining, even though Nudge's hair was going to get frizzy from the rain. Gazzy tried his hardest to fly quickly, even though the wind knocked him around. To say the least, they all worked very hard to keep going. After 2 hours of this, Max asked Iggy if he thought they should land, and he nodded. They landed and ran into a crowded building.<p>

Dylan told them they were in Barcelona. Take not that Barcelona is the party city.

When they got inside, the flock realized what they had walked into. It was a party. Iggy could hear the pounding music and the laughing and shouting.

"¿Está usted enla lista de invitados?" asked a deep voice that Iggy had never heard before. He guessed it was the velvet rope guy.

"Oh, uh, we were just leaving," said Max.

Before they were able to leave, another voice, a girl voice with a Spanish accent, said, "Hector, let them stay! The tall one is very handsome."

The girl grabbed Iggy's hand and pulled him into the crowd. "So, where are you from?" she asked. She started dancing while Iggy just stood there in a confused daze. _What is going on?_ He thought.

"Uh, I'm from the United States. And I have a girlfriend," Iggy added the last part in hope that this girl would let him leave.

"That is nice. How come you are not dancing?" she asked.

Iggy stared at the girl in disbelief. "Because I have a girlfriend. I got to go," said Iggy.

"Okay! Goodbye!"

Iggy ran to the flock, who were standing around near the food table, and motioned for them to leave. Max laughed and told the flock to get outta there. They ran into another building, this time it was a restaurant. They sat down at a table. "What just happened?" asked Iggy.

"Well, we landed and ran into what happened to be a party. The huge dude that ran the velvet rope asked us if we were on the guest list. Some smoking' hot chick walked over and let us in, and she apparently thought you were hot, which is weird because I was standing right next to you," said Fang. "Well she like pulled you off into the mob of partiers. And the rest of us went and got pizza."

By the time Fang Finished the flock was laughing so hard. Even Iggy was laughing.

* * *

><p>Bambina was sitting in her cage crying a little, when the door opened and she heard Bryce's footsteps. "Hey," said Bryce.<p>

Bambina wiped the tears off her cheeks and nodded. "Hi."

"I brought you an apple," said Bryce.

"Thanks," said Bambina. Bryce handed her the apple, which she gladly took. Bambina bit into the apple and chewed.

"So, I think they're making chicken for dinner," said Bryce.

"Souns gub," Bambina replied. Her mouth was full of apple.

Bryce laughed.

**So, It's been about a week since Bambina was taken. This was really short. **


	15. Dreaming

The flock checked into an inexpensive hotel room for the night. And by inexpensive, I mean crappy. But they had a limited budget, and this was the cheapest place they could find.

Iggy agreed they all needed a good nights sleep, but still told him they were leaving the minute they woke up.

The whole flock knew Iggy was having a hard time without Bambina. They didn't realize how hard it was without her until that night. Max woke when she heard the television turn on and left the bedroom to go see what was going on. She saw Iggy sitting on the couch, staring at the news channel. It was in Spanish.

"Why are you watching Spanish news?" asked Max quietly. She didn't want to wake the others. "You can't see the screen and it's in Spanish."

"I donno. I couldn't sleep," muttered Iggy.

Max fell silent, thinking. Finally, she spoke. "So, you thought the best thing to do was listen to Spanish news?"

"Well, yeah. It's the standard way to pass time," Iggy murmured sarcastically. At least his sense of sarcasm wasn't totally gone.

"C'mon, Iggy. What's up?" Max said calmly. She was trying to handle this like Bambina would, as calm and sensitive as Max was able.

Iggy swallowed. "I don't want to sleep."

"Why not?"

Iggy lowered his voice so much that if Max hadn't had advanced hearing she wouldn't have heard it. "Nightmares."

Max sighed and took Iggy's hand. That's all she could do. "Nightmares?"

"About her. I'm in a forest and she keeps calling me. Telling me to save her. But I can't see her. And it's like her voice is coming from a bunch of different directions, so I can't follow her. I just run, trying to find her. But I never do. Then she starts crying and telling me to come to her. I never find her."

"How long have you been having nightmares?" asked Max quietly.

"Since she was taken. I tried to put up with them, at first. I can't anymore."

Max went silent again, trying to take it all in. She squeezed his hand. "Iggy, you have to get some sleep, or you'll be too tired."

"I am unable to sleep," whispered Iggy.

Max nodded, not knowing what to do. She turned off the TV, and sat back. She wished Bambina were there to comfort Iggy. Then, an idea popped in her head. She walked into Fang's room and shook him awake.

"Good morning, sunshine," Max said sarcastically.

Fang sat up and yawned. He looked at the clock. "It's not morning! It's one in the morning!"

"I need a huge favor. Iggy can't sleep so I need you to run to the store," Max explained.

"Why can't you do it?" asked Fang grumpily.

"Because I need to stay here with Iggy."

Fang nodded. "What do you need me to get?"

* * *

><p>Fang flew to the nearest department store and walked around for at least 20 minutes before he found it. It was a cheap little trinket. He paid for it ($8.50...expensive) and walked into the woods. He spread his black wings and flew off. In the air, Fang examined the small object. He couldn't see how this would help. But it was worth a try.<p>

Fang walked into the hotel room and handed the trinket to Max, who was standing by the door. She sat back down next to Iggy. "Iggy check this out," said Max as she shoved it into his hands.

"What's this?" Iggy asked as he ran his fingers over the object.

"It's a dream catcher. I don't know it they actually work. But it's supposed to catch bad dreams in the net part and the fry in the sun, but good dreams go through the little hole in the middle," explained Max.

Iggy nodded and wondered where Max had heard this. "So, you think this will help me?"

"I donno. But I thought we should try it," said Max.

Iggy nodded and stood. "I'm gonna try to sleep."

Iggy went to his room and shut the door. Fang sat down next to Max and asked, "You really think that thing will work?"

"Not really."

Fang laughed.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Iggy awoke from a dreamless sleep. He reached over to his bedside table and snatched the dream catcher. He held it in his hands and just sat there. <em>Hmm, maybe it does work, <em>thought Iggy. He shook his head and laughed a little. _Or it's just a stupid piece of leather with plastic beads. Yup, it's just a stupid piece of leather._ He put it in his backpack and strolled into the living room. He felt Max's stare on him and smiled, trying to tell her that he got a good night's sleep.

**I'm sorry I haven't been updating as often and that most of these recent chapters have been filler crap. I promise the good stuff is coming. **


	16. Seen

**Fast-forward! No more fillers. No more...**

Bambina sat in her cage thinking. She heard the door open and she was suddenly ripped out of her cage and dragged out of the hold. She kicked and punched but was unable to escape their grasp. She was dragged up a flight of stairs and forced to climb a bunch of ladders up to the main deck. The warm wind and fresh air was refreshing considering how long she had been in the hold **(the hold is the bottom floor of a boat)**. Someone tied her hands behind her back and shoved her to move forward. She heard the crew laugh at her, along with the sound of the waves. She used her echolocation, and found that she was moving toward a cockboat **(that's sailor talk for tiny escape boat)**, which was hanging off the boat and being held up by ropes. Someone kicked her between her wings, causing her to fall forward into the cockboat. She stayed down on the floor. _Where is Bryce? Is he coming?_ Bambina felt the sharp pain of being picked up by her hair and thrown onto a bench. She sat their, silent. "Hey! Be careful with that! Dr. Boyd told me he didn't want it injured when we arrived!" said Bryce from a couple feet away. She knew he was only calling her 'it' to fool the crew. But who was Dr. Boyd? _My murderer. _

She felt something dripping from her nose. She inhaled deeply and smelled the salty smell of blood. _Great. _"Hey! It's bleeding! Someone get me a rag!" shouted Bryce at the crewmembers on the boat. She felt the little boat being lowered into the ocean. Someone held the rag to her nose to absorb the blood. It was Bryce.

"Stay still and quiet and they won't hurt you," whispered Bryce as he wiped the blood from her lips. He said it so quietly that if she had not had enhanced hearing she wouldn't have heard him. Bambina nodded. He untied her hands and handed her the rag. "Hold that to your nose. Don't try to escape; they have guns. They're going to temporarily sedate you. Relax."

Just moments after, someone pressed a mask to her face and told her to breath. She suddenly felt sleepier and sleepier until...

Bambina woke in a dog crate. Her body still felt droopy and her muscles relaxed. But little by little, her strength came to her. She ran her hands along the sides of the crate; it was large enough for her to sit up, but not big enough for her to stand or lay flat.

"Hello?" Bambina said loudly.

"Hello. Who is you?" asked a voice next to her. It was a young, male voice. She sounded maybe ten years old.

"I'm Bambina. Who...are you?" replied Bambina. She was so happy to hear someone.

"I Sam. Why you here?"

"I'm here to be retired. Why are you here?" asked Bambina nicely.

"I be experiment. You talk good," said Sam sweetly. "It is good you here. I be lonely."

Bambina smiled in Sam's general direction. "It's good you're here, too. I am happy you are here. Are there any other experiments here?"

"Yes. They no speak. You cannot see them?" asked Sam in a curious voice.

Bambina sighed. "I can't see." She waved her hand in front of her eyes.

"Oh. I sorry you are blind," Sam said.

"It's not your fault. Don't be sorry," spoke Bambina.

* * *

><p>Iggy and the flock finally arrived in Australia. The flock landed on the beach and walked up the sand. Iggy felt the soft sand under his boots. He knelt down and scooped up a handful of sand and let it run off his hand. "Where are we?"<p>

"Perth," said Angel joyfully. "We're finally here!"

Iggy walked to Angel's side. "We aren't there yet, Angel. She isn't here, so we aren't there yet."

"Oh. Um, okay."

"Alright. Down to business. Who has any ideas on how to find her?" asked Max from a couple feet away.

Silence. Nobody had a clue where Bambina was. "Great," said Iggy sarcastically.

In case you were wondering, it was sort of a not established rule that no one say Bambina's name until she was found. They said 'she' or 'her'. Not Bambina. They didn't really know why. That's just how it went.

They sat there on the beach until the sun started to set.

All of a sudden, Dylan stopped moving and his eyes became wide. He was looking off into the north. "Max," he whispered.

She ran over to him. "What?"

"I can see her," he whispered even quieter.

Max's jaw dropped. She turned to the flock, who were giving them curious stares. "Dylan can see her. Iggy, he can see her."

Iggy ran to Dylan and stopped next to him. "Where?"

"She's being dragged off a boat. A little boat. Now they are loading her into a truck. She isn't moving. But she's breathing. People are getting in and they just closed the doors to the truck. I'm watching it drive. I think they're in Karratha. Yes, they're in Karratha," Dylan said. He turned to the flock. "Follow me."

The flock spread their wings and flew into the air. Max looked over and saw Iggy smiling. Max smiled, too.

They flew through the air with Dylan leading them.

**Who's the best author on fanfiction? That's right! Not me! This was a pretty good chapter, though. Review, review, review! **


	17. Finally Found

**Go vote on my poll. I forbid you to read this chapter until you vote. Just kidding. But, seriously, vote.**

Dylan led the way to Karratha with the flock behind him. Max looked at Iggy. He was trying (ineffectively) to hide his joy. Everyone was trying to hide their joy. The flock flew as fast as they could after Dylan. He kept his head forward, watching Bambina. Suddenly, he stopped.

"What is it?" asked Gazzy.  
>Dylan swallowed. "I see the building. The one they're keeping her in."<p>

"Yeah. And?"

"It's big. Really, really big. There are guards. Around the perimeter. A lot of guards. The walls are made of cement. To sum this up, Max, we have no chance," said Dylan quietly.

Max groaned. Nudge started babbling about who-knows-what. Fang sighed. They looked to Iggy, expecting to see tears, but they saw a sly look on his face.

"I have an really good idea. Oh, by the way, Max, you are gonna hate this," said Iggy with a smile. Iggy reached in his pocket and took out a bomb. Yep, Max did hate it.

"You had that the whole time! Why did you bring that! Are you insane!" screamed Max.

"Possibly...I don't know. Insane people usually don't question whether they are insane or not. Oh, and yeah, I had this the whole time."

Max growled.

"Iggy, I don't think that's a good idea," said Nudge. "I mean I don't want to kill all those guards. We don't kill people, right? It would be a good idea if it wouldn't kill those guards. They could be good people. I just think maybe we don't blow up the wall because killing is bad."

"Nudge, my girlfriend is in there, about to be killed. If you have a better idea, go ahead and say it," Iggy snapped.

Nudge, maybe for the first time in her life, stayed silent. Angel, however, did not.

"Maybe I can get someone to sound the alarm. I'll send a message to someone in the base and tell them to get the guards away from the main entrance. Sound okay?"

"Yeah, but we won't know whether or not they'll just tell the guards to attack us. Not everyone wants us to be alive, Angel," Iggy replied. If you couldn't tell, Iggy's sense of sarcasm was returning, probably because they were close to finding Bambina.

Angel nodded. "I'll check their thoughts to see if they're," Angel held her hands up and made quotation marks, "on the inside."

Iggy laughed. Angel fell silent, reading thoughts. She heard someone think _I hope Bambina's okay._

* * *

><p>Bryce sat in the cafeteria, thinking about Bambina, when he heard a little voice inside his head say <em>Hello! What's your name? <em>Bryce sat up and looked around, wondering if he was going crazy.

_Nah, you aren't crazy. I'm Bambina's friend, Angel. I'm here with Bambina's other friends. What's your name?_

_Oh my gosh. How can you talk to me? Maybe I am insane._

_You aren't insane. I can read minds. What. Is. Your. Name? _

_It's Bryce. _

_Hi, Bryce! Can you help us find Bambina? We have a plan but we need your help. _

_Um, okay. What do you want me to do?_

_Get everyone away from the front entrance. Then tell me when you have everyone away. We're going to blow it up._

_Of, course you are._

* * *

><p>Bryce scurried around the building and went into the main office. It was empty as usual. He grabbed the announcement microphone and into it, he said, "We have detected a gas leak near the main entrance of the building. Evacuate the north wing of the building. The gas is known to be lethal. Leave the north wing now!"<p>

Bryce put the microphone down and listened hard. He heard people rushing down the hall. They were running to get away from the "gas leak." He peeked out of the office door and saw many guards and scientists hurrying down the hallway. Bryce walked down the hallway, and made sure no one was near the main entrance. No one was.

Bryce sprinted back down the hall, and, as soon as he was sure he was a safe distance away, he thought to Angel, _blow it up!_

With a loud boom, the front wall of the building was gone. Iggy shook a little, but still stood. They climbed over the debris and met Bryce at the end of the hall.

"Hi, I'm Nudge! That's Max. She's the leader," Nudge said, pointing. "That's Fang. That's Dylan. That's Gazzy. That's Angel. And that's Iggy. Can you take us to Bambina?"

"Uh, sure. C'mon, follow me," answered Bryce.

Bryce led the flock down the halls and into a room marked "Successful Experiments." Nudge and Dylan unlocked all of the cages and let many different children free. They were all strange looking. Iggy searched many cages, opening and reaching in each one. They were all empty. He was trying to find Bambina.

He reached in one and touched an arm. "Bambina?" She jumped into his embrace, tears coming to her eyes. She kissed his cheek. They broke apart.

She walked to the cage next to her own, and freed Sam.

**YAY! Don't worry, guys. This story is far from over. What did you think of this chapter? Review!**


	18. Lost and Found and Lost Again

**Okay, guys, get your tissues ready cuz this chapter is sad. Sorry I haven't been updating as often; I have writers block. **

The flock, Sam, Bryce, and Bambina sprinted down the halls followed by many other mutants. The guards had figured out there was no gas leak and that the mutants were escaping. Max led the group to the exit. Bambina told Nudge and Gazzy to get Bryce and she herself reached for Sam. But Sam did something very unexpected. He spread his wings, too. They weren't like the flock's wings. His wings were black and leathery with many angles. On the top of his wings were two little things that seemed like hands, except they were covered in fur; they were bat wings. Sam flew into the air. He was very graceful flying.

Bambina smiled and took off. She looked down below and heard guards. She used her echolocation and saw the faint outline of hundreds of guards carrying guns. She heard the awful sound of hundreds of guns being readied, then shot.

"Bambina!"

Bambina felt a sharp, horrible pain in her left wing. She had been shot and was now falling to the ground. "Iggy, help! Help me!" Hot tears stung her eyes. She felt someone catch her and throw her in a cage. Bambina heard the screams and cries of her flock. And she passed out.

* * *

><p>Iggy was trying to dodge the thousands of bullets coming at him, when he heard Bambina scream. Bambina had shot. As she was plunging to the ground, she screamed for Iggy to help her. He was about to go catch her when someone wrapped their arms around his chest from behind him. It was Max. He fought her grasp, but she was holding tight.<p>

"Max, LET ME GO!" Iggy screamed pleadingly.

Max only tightened her grip. "No! If you go down there to save her, you'll get shot, too! Iggy stop!"

Tears came to his eyes as he tried to fight Max, but it was too late. Bambina was gone. Forever. Iggy filled with rage and fury. He threw Max off of him and turned around to face her. He put his hands in fists and held them up. Iggy gritted his teeth and came at Max. He felt Dylan and Fang grab his forearms and yank him backwards.

Iggy was so mad at Max. "Why did you do that, Max! I could have saved her!"

"No, Iggy. There were to many guards. You would have been killed."

Iggy flew off. Max tried to follow him, but Fang told her to let him be by himself for a while.

Iggy flew aimlessly for a very long time. He landed on the beach and sat there until the sun started to set. Tears threatened to spill over. She was really gone this time. He would never hold her again. Iggy held his abdomen and clenched his teeth. Bambina was going to die. He heard the crunch of footsteps on the sand coming toward him.

"Go away," he growled.

"No." It was Nudge. "I'm sorry about...Bambina."

Iggy cringed at Bambina's name as if it were a swear word. He stayed silent as Nudge sat next to him. Little Nudge wrapped her arm around Iggy's shoulders. "It'll be okay, Iggy," whispered Nudge. She knew what she was saying was a lie. Iggy knew that, too.

Iggy began to say something but instead he silently sobbed. Nudge cried with him. They sat there on the beach for an hour, until it became dark. Iggy stood and helped Nudge up.

"Where...?" began Iggy.

Nudge grabbed Iggy's forearm and shot up into the air. They flew through the air. The gentle wind blowing through Iggy's hair and across his skin comforted him.

"Nudge?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are we going?" asked Iggy.

"There's this warehouse. We've decided to stay there."

Iggy nodded. They flew for about a half an hour, until they landed outside an abandoned warehouse. They stepped inside and Iggy felt the awful stares of his flock.

"Iggy, I..." Max began, but Iggy waved his hand as if to say "save your breath."

He sat down and leaned up against the wall. Angel bounced over and sat on Iggy's lap. She pulled him into a hug.

Iggy knew they were all trying to comfort him, but it didn't really help.

**This chapter was sad and poorly written. You guys probably hate me. Just tell me if you want me to re-write this. **


	19. Back in the Lab

Bambina awoke on a table. She was on her back, strapped down and couldn't move at all. Her wrists, elbows, ankles, knees, torso, and neck were all strapped to the table. Her wings were stretched out across the table. The left wing was wrapped in gauze. There were many needles in her skin and a breathing mask was pressed up to her face. She tried to move but she was tied down too tightly.

Bambina screamed with her mouth shut, trying to get someone to help her.

"Experiment 79 seems to be awake. Vital signs looking good. Do you think she's ready for testing?" said and unfamiliar male voice.

"I think so. When is the scheduled retirement?" another voice said.

"It's at 8 pm tomorrow," the first voice answered.

Bambina was felt the straps being untied and the mask being taken off. Someone grabbed her under her arms and picked her up, then set her down on the ground. They pushed her down the halls and yelled at her to keep going. The two scientists and Bambina arrived in a crowded room. Bambina heard many footsteps, people blowing whistles, yelling, and the sound of pencil scratching across paper. This was the test room.

Bambina was led to the end of the room. And to the maze entrance.

"You have 5 minutes," said a scientist. Then he let her go in. As she sprinted through the maze, she held up her arms so her fingers brushed the walls beside her. Bambina was also clicking her tongue over and over, using her echolocation, making sure she wasn't going to slam into a wall. It seemed like forever before she reached the end. She went through the exit and fell to the ground, huffing and puffing.

"Four minutes. Not bad," said another scientist. "Let's see how she does with the helmet."

She felt a large object put on her head. Suddenly, she could see.

"This helmet works by using a camera and sending the little images to your brain."

Bambina nodded but she wasn't listening. She was preoccupied looking around at her surroundings. The room was _huge_, with cement walls, floors, and ceiling. There were about ten mazes. And there must have been 50 scientists, and they were either writing on a clipboard, talking, or operating some-sort of machinery. She saw many other mutants of all shapes and sizes. It was amazing.

"Go!"

Bambina ran into the maze. She couldn't believe how much easier it was. She scrambled around the corners and turned around when she came to dead ends. Finally, the end of the maze was visible and Bambina ran at it as fast as her little legs could carry her.

"Three minutes...Impressive," said the scientist. Bambina wasn't even listening. She gazed at the room around her and could believe how amazing it all was. Everything was so...real. So...beautiful. Bambina wanted so badly to share this feeling with Iggy. Seeing was more than a sense to her now. It was something that amazed her.

Someone grabbed the helmet off of her and that familiar blackness returned. Bambina sighed. Her sight was gone. And they sadated her.

* * *

><p>Bambina was shot yesterday and the flock was grieving. Nudge looked at Sam. It was the first time she was able to actually look at him. He had dark skin. It wasn't like her skin, which was a deep tan. Sam's skin was a beautiful dark mocha color. His hair was black and came down below his ears in tight kinks. He was very skinny, probably because he lived in the School for so long. But his most gorgeous feature was his eyes. His eyes were large and they had light gray irises. He wore a black shirt and black sweatpants. Sam was also barefoot.<p>

Sam looked at Nudge and smiled. "Do you want to see fangs?" he asked.

"Fang is over there," said Nudge, pointing to Fang, who was sitting next to Max a couple feet away.

Sam laughed. "No. Fangs." Sam opened his mouth wide to reveal two little fangs where his canine teeth should have been. Nudge gasped and scooted backwards.

Sam chuckled at Nudge's reaction. "I be part vampire bat. No worries. I don't drink blood."

Nudge was confused. "So you're not a vampire?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"I mean you don't drink blood? Could you drink blood? Like Edward Cullen?"

Sam was confused. "I don't drink blood. Fangs are just weapons. I could drink blood, but I not sure blood is yummy...Who Edward Cullen?"

"He's from a movie called Twilight. He drinks animal blood," Nudge explained.

"Ew! Why would Edward Cullen drink animal blood?" asked Sam, looking totally baffled.

"Because he's a vampire. He has to drink blood, but he doesn't want to kill people, so he drinks animal blood," Nudge said.

Sam nodded and listened carefully, trying to make sense of what Nudge was saying. "Edward Cullen good vampire," was all he could say about it.

"When we get home, you and I can watch the movie," said Nudge, happy someone was interested in Twilight. Sam smiled.

Nudge smiled back and looked at Bryce. Bryce's skin was pale and he had dirty blonde hair that hung over his eyebrows. He had brown eyes and pink lips. He was quite muscular. Bryce wore a white T-shirt and baggy jeans and Converse sneakers. He looked about fifteen.

"Hey, Bryce?" said Nudge.

"Yeah...Nudge." It took him a couple seconds to remember her name.

"How come you are fifteen and you are in charge of so many people?" asked Nudge.

Bryce hesitated. "My dad says I am going to take his place when I grow up, so, for now, I'm a trainee."

Nudge stared at him. "Oh. Okay."

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys. Sorry I didn't update this sooner. I was sick. Review, review, review!<strong>


	20. Remembered

Hey, sorry I haven't updated in a while. Enjoy!

Iggy sat in a corner in the warehouse and thought of Bambina. Hot tears fell down his cheeks as he remembered her. He remembered her lips pressed against his. How soft they were; how great they were; how he wished to kiss them one more time. He remembered her voice, soft, pure, and innocent. He remembered her beauty. Iggy never saw her, but he knew for a fact Bambina was beautiful. He was certain of her beauty because something inside him told him that she was amazing: inside and out. But most of all, he remembered her soul. Bambina was so kind, so sweet, so...innocent. Iggy thought it was his fault she died. She didn't ask to be included in his messed up life; she was thrown into it. She could have been a normal girl. Her DNA didn't need to be combined with bird DNA  
>But her DNA was combined with bird DNA. And now she was dead. Iggy couldn't help but want to know what they were doing to her body. Experimenting on it? Probably. The thought of the whitecoats opening her body made him cringe. How dare they disrespect her memory! How dare they make her suffer even after her death! It sickened Iggy to know the whitecoats took her life and felt no shame. They created her, she carried out her purpose flawlessly, and they stole her, and shot her dead. It made Iggy fill with rage.<br>Iggy was having trouble absorbing the fact that Bambina was dead. It just didn't seem true. It didn't sound right. When the thought ran through his head, he stopped and thought, "Is she really gone?" Iggy didn't want it to be true. He didn't want her to be gone.  
>A thought occurred to him: why had they taken her? Bambina followed their directions perfectly. She did what she had been created to do. They fell in love, which was exactly what the Industry wanted. And BAM! They take her for no reason. Jeb said it was because there was too many design flaws. Iggy didn't know of any design flaws. Bambina was perfect. She had no mental or spiritual or physical flaws. It didn't matter whether she was ugly or not. Why had they killed her? The question repeated over and over in Iggy's head. He thought about it for a while, but there was no answer.<br>Iggy stood and turned to face the flock. "I wanna go back," he announced.  
>"Why?" asked Max.<br>"I want to know why they...killed her. They didn't tell us why and I want to know. I want to know right now. And I plan to find out."  
>Gazzy cheered. "Yeah! We should totally do that! Iggy, we should play good copbad cop! How cool would that be? I call bad cop!"  
>"Gaz, this isn't a game. It's dangerous. In fact, you, Angel, and Nudge need to stay behind. This is a job for the big kids," explained Max.<br>Before Gazzy, Nudge, or Angel could protest, Max said, "Don't argue with me!"  
>"Can I come?" asked Sam.<br>"No," said Fang simply. Sam nodded and frowned.  
>"How come he gets to go?" asked Gazzy, pointing at Bryce.<br>"Bryce knows the building. He can get us in and out of there."  
>Gazzy fell silent, crossed his arms, and pouted.<br>"How come I can't come? I can totally help with this mission. I mean I can hack a computer better than all of you! I know I would be a big help. Plus, TigerBop magazine said that groups should always..." Nudge was interrupted.  
>"Nudge! I honestly couldn't care less about TigerBop! You are staying here and that is final! Same with you, Angel!" said Max sharply. Nobody argued. "So, Bryce, how are we gonna get in?"<p>

"Can't we just do the same thing we did last time?" Bryce asked.

"There are two flaws in that plan. One: we don't have someone in the building that can get everybody away from the explosion. Two: Iggy's out of bombs," explained Fang.

Bryce furrowed his brow, deep in thought. He considered his options, ways to get in and out without anybody knowing. An idea popped into his head.

"There is a truck delivering supplies to the building. If we can get on that truck, we'll get in. Now, we must get on the truck. Then we must find out who ordered for Bambina to be retired. Then we gotta meet this guy and have a good talk with him," said Bryce.

"That is a long to-do list," observed Dylan.

"What do you mean when you say 'good talk'? He _killed_ her," growled Iggy. Something about Bryce made him angry.

"I know you're angry, but, Iggy, we need to get answers out of this guy. Trust me, I'm angry, too..." Bryce was interrupted.

Iggy stood. "I'm sure you are! Cuz you seem very angry! Look, buddy..." Iggy shouted. Bryce stood and interrupted.

"I am angry! At least I'm thinking of an idea! You just sit there in the corner and cry!" Bad move, Bryce. Iggy grabbed Bryce's shirt collar and pulled him up on Bryce's toes. Iggy pulled back his fist, threatening to really knock Bryce's lights out, which we all know Iggy can do quite well.

Max quickly took action and threw the two boys apart. "Hey! Iggy, know you're upset, but be mature! And Bryce! I've only known you for like one day, and you do NOT want to get on my bad side! Both of you, ACT YOUR FRICKIN' AGE!"

Everyone fell silent. Max nodded, "Yeah, I thought so."

Iggy was wrong. They were all wrong. Bambina was alive. Barely, but she was. She awoke on a table; her wrists, elbows, knees, neck, and middle were strapped down. Her brain felt fuzzy, like a radio with a weak signal. Her body was numb and she couldn't feel or hear anything. She could barely breath it hurt so much. Little by little, she was able to figure out what was going on. There was a breathing mask pressed to her face and the injured wing was wrapped in gauze. It was odd that they would go to such lengths to keep her healthy when they want to kill her.

The memories came to her. She remembered the maze, and how they sedated her. And how they forced her to run through a maze after she had been shot. She remembered the pain in her wing from being shot. Worst of all, she remembered hearing Iggy call her name when she was falling. She had been so close to escaping. So close. But it didn't matter anymore; nothing did. Bambina was just hours away from being killed. She decided it would just be better for her to not think about Iggy, or Bryce, or Sam, or the flock. She would just focus on her surroundings. Death was already painful; let's not make it unbearable.

She heard the hinges of the door creak as it opened and tiny, quick footsteps. This person, whomever it was, approached the table on which Bambina laid.

"Swallow these," said a quiet male voice. He put two little pills in her mouth and held a paper cup of water to her lips. At first, she resisted, thinking the pills were going to be the thing to kill her. "No, no. It's painkillers, I promise."

_Like your promise is worth anything to me!_ Bambina thought angrily. But she took the pills, mostly because she had no other choice. The man walked out the door. And she was alone again. Oddly enough, she sort of wanted him to come back. Not because she liked the man as a person, but because she didn't want to be alone. It was scary sitting on the table, waiting for some stranger to kill her.

The pain dwindled into just a dull ache in her wing. _Holy crap, how strong are these painkillers? _Bambina thought groggily.

She tried to rip her arms out of the straps, but it was too strong. Either that, or she was too weak. And with that, she lost hope. Bambina only wished her death would come painlessly.

**I thought I'd give you guys sort of a treat considering I haven't been updating as often. School is starting soon and I've been extremely busy. I'll try my hardest to update more often. (I update faster when I get a lot of reviews.)**


	21. I Hear You

**I am so sorry for not posting as often as I would like. School just started and I've been extremely busy. Hopefully, I'll find some extra time in my hectic schedule. Onto the chapter!**

"Why can't we just break in?" asked Max, frustrated. She had asked this question seven times, and she never got the answer she wanted.

"Because, in order to get answers, we need to just stay calm. I don't think they will answer our questions if we blast the front entrance," Dylan answered, also getting frustrated.

"Do we even need to bring him?" asked Iggy, pointing to Bryce, not caring that Bryce was offended by the question. Iggy didn't like Bryce. Bryce tried to be friendly with Iggy, but Iggy was not making it easy.

"Yes, we need to bring him. We barely know where we're going," said Fang, annoyed. They were all annoyed with each other. Usually, the flock just broke in and beat up everyone in sight. Now, they needed to be calm and non-violent, something that Max had never attempted.

"Okay, here is how this is going to go. We are going to wait a mile outside the building and, when the truck gets close, we hijack it and drive it to the building's garage. From there, we sneak into the garage entry and I'll lead you into Dr. Boyd's office. Sound like a plan?" asked Bryce. Max, Dylan, Fang and even Iggy nodded in agreement. It was a very good plan. Bryce smiled.

"When do we leave?" asked Fang.

"Now," answered Iggy simply. He stood and headed to the exit. The flock looked at him. "I said now, guys."

Dr. Boyd sat in his office, filling out paperwork. He looked at his watch, which read 5:30 pm. One and a half hours until Subject 79's retirement. It was such a shame to retire such a successful experiment. But, he had to do it, considering how many flaws it had. It was not loyal enough to its creators. And its appearance was not, so to say, good enough. Jeb had argued with Boyd, but Boyd threatened to fire Jeb. That was the end of it. Boyd liked having power over Jeb. How he hated Jeb. Jeb was a butt-kisser, a sap, and he formed relationships with the experiments. And he stole the mutants.

Suddenly, the door flew open. There stood five teenage kids, one of them was his nephew. "Bryce, how are you?" asked Boyd casually. The tallest of the group grabbed Boyd's collar with one hand, and clenched the other into a fist and raised it high. Boyd stayed silent, but his expression was terrified.

"You need to answer a couple questions for us," said Bryce calmly, a smirk on his face.

"Why did you kill her?" growled the tall one.

Boyd started shaking. "K-kill who?"

"Bambina."

It all became clear to Boyd. The boy about to punch him in the face was Iggy. Poor, blind Iggy. Boyd took a closer look at the group of teens, and identified them immediately. There was Max, Fang, Dylan, Iggy, and Bryce. It made perfect sense now.

"You've come to collect Subject 79?" asked Boyd.

"Collect her? What are you talking about? You killed her...right?" asked Max.

A sly smile crossed Boyd's face. "Subject 79 was retired this morning. Are you here to collect her body?" Boyd answered, lying through his teeth.

"Why did you kill her?" Iggy barked, raising his voice.

"There were too many flaws. Her physical appearance, his disloyalty to Itex. The list goes on and on."

"Her physical appearance? You killed her because of what she looked like?" asked Fang, furious.

Iggy suddenly freaked out. He clapped his hand over Boyd's mouth. And lifted his head, deep in concentration.

"Iggy, what are you..." began Max, but Iggy held his finger to her mouth. The room became very silent. After what seemed like forever, Iggy spoke.

"You're a liar, Dr. Boyd. A dirty, smelly liar. I can hear her," whispered Iggy. And with that, the flock and Bryce ran out the door.

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><p>Iggy led the way through the halls of Itex. As he became closer, the Bambina's soft sobs became more and more audible. Was it her? Was he dreaming? Probably. But as he became closer, it became clear that this was no dream. The rest of the flock was actually having trouble keeping up. He ran in her general direction. His heart raced. Now, Iggy could clearly make out her crying. A big goofy smile crossed his face. He suddenly stopped, and everyone slammed into his back, creating sort of a domino effect. "We're usually way better at this," said Fang to Bryce. Max looked at Iggy. He was slowly standing, and he pressed his ear to a the door.<p>

Yes, it was definitely Bambina. He could smell her. How was this real?

Iggy crashed through the door. The sobbing stopped. "Iggy!" Her voice rang through his ears. Her sweet, beautiful voice.

Dylan tumbled through the door, panting like a dog. "Hey, guys."

"Untie her!" shouted Iggy. Dylan untied the straps as quickly as he could.

Bambina crashed into Iggy. Iggy pulled her close. He couldn't believe it was she pressed against him. He couldn't believe she was alive. But it was her; he could hear the almost-silent sound of her heart beating.

"Aw, how sweet. Now, let's go before the guards get to us," said Max.

The finally reunited flock dashed through the halls of Itex. Iggy held onto Max's belt loop, while Bambina held his wrist. She was having trouble absorbing the situation. How had they found her? She heard loud running from behind them. "Guys! Behind us!" she shouted.

"Oh, how FREAKING WONDERFUL!" yelled Max sarcastically. Bambina smiled, for she missed Max's sarcasm.

Then, there were footsteps coming at them. At least 60 guards were coming at them from all side.

"Even FREAKING BETTER!" screamed Max in frustration.

A guard shot at Bambina's ankle and missed. She let go of Iggy's wrist and punched the shooter in the jaw. She felt two teeth rip out of the guard's gums. Bambina heard another come up from behind her, and she reached back, grabbed the man's wrist, and pulled his arm out of his socket. As she was doing this, she kicked backwards and she felt the glorious feel of her boot coming into contact with a man's gut. The others joined her in fighting. She threw her fist out and hit a guard in neck. Bambina was enjoying every second of brawling. _Ah, sweet revenge!_ Bambina thought as her elbow hit someone in the stomach. "Iggy," she called as she round house kicked a guy.

"Yes?" he called back in a worried tone.

She smiled. "This is the best date EVER!"

Iggy laughed. She could tell that he was about ten feet away. A firm hand grabbed her shoulder. Bambina grabbed his hand, bent down, and flung the man over her shoulder. As he hit the ground, a loud and satisfying thud was heard.

Max glanced at Bambina while she kneed a man where it hurts. She hadn't expected Bambina to be so good at hand to hand combat. It was as if Bambina knew where each individual attacker was. As Max socked a man across the jaw, she quickly glanced over at Bambina, who was happily elbowing a man in the neck. Wow.

**Happy ending for this chapter. Next chapter will not be as happy. I might update faster if I get more reviews. **


	22. A Lesson in Faith

**Oh, my god. I haven't updated since SEPTEMBER! You guys probably hate me. I'm gonna make this chapter extra special.**

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><p>The flock continued fighting. But the number of guards never dwindled; in fact, it increase. There must have been two hundred men. The fight went on for maybe an hour or two. It was becoming exhausting. And the guards weren't bad fighters either. Max watched as Iggy and Bambina fought, fascinated at their ability to fight without seeing. They battled with effortless grace, almost as if they were dancing. They never lost their footing, never fell. It was amazing. They made it look so easy. Max twisted a man's wrist and turned to see Dylan. Max felt a twinge of horror; Dylan's face was bruised and bloody, though he continued fighting with unflagging determination. Then there was Bryce. Bryce was probably having the hardest time out of all of them. A large guard was punching him in the stomach repeatedly. Max couldn't help but look at Fang. She wished she hadn't. Fang's wing was twisted at an odd angle, the tips kind of bending upwards. But he showed no signs of wanting to stop. Even Iggy and Bambina had several injuries. Max felt the need to surrender.<p>

She edged toward Bryce and kicked Bryce's attacker in the jaw. Before he had time to thank her, another man came and drop kicked him.

"Fang! Help me with Bryce!" called Max.

Bryce mumbled a curse word. Max felt bad for him; he was obviously struggling. Fang managed to fight his way over to Bryce and Max. "Take Bryce and get him outta here," Max shouted over the loud noises of fighting.

Fang nodded, threw Bryce over his shoulder, and ran off into the crowd. Max scanned the room. She managed to see Dylan, who was fighting as hard as he could. But before she could get to him, Max heard a deafening scream.

Iggy was fighting with all his might, and was doing quite well. But then, there was a scream, an awful tearing noise, and pain. His shirt was drenched in blood just moments later. He put his hand over the wound and collapsed. The blood was sticky and warm. Then, Iggy couldn't feel anything. He couldn't hear the screams of Bambina as he became unconscious. Iggy couldn't feel the horrible pain. He couldn't feel Bambina's hands on my chest, trying to feel for a heartbeat. Fortunately, it was there. Someone kicked Bambina in the back and sent her tumbling away from him. Max and Dylan stood around him, protecting him. Bambina managed to scoot back to Iggy. She sat there, telling him to stay awake. Iggy tried, and that was all he could do.

Iggy went into darkness.

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><p>Bambina stood over Iggy, trying to fathom it. She shook, not with sadness, but with rage. Fiery, burning, terrible rage! She turned to the guards, lunged, and killed one. "I get something in my life that matters, something I love! And you steal it away! How could you! I hate you! I hate you! I never asked for much in life; all I wanted was him! You said he was mine! You guaranteed it! You promised! All this time, I believed you!" Bambina lunged and broke a man's neck. Max stood in horror. Dylan embraced her, just trying to keep her from killing another.<p>

"Bambina, listen to me," he whispered in her ear. "Iggy's still alive. He can make it if we just get him outta here. Bambina, stop fighting me. It'll be okay. Iggy will be okay if you just stop. Don't kill anyone else. You just need to breath." Bambina felt the tears streaming down Dylan's cheeks as he spoke. But she couldn't extinguish this anger. She knew he was dead. He lay in a puddle of blood, unmoving. Bambina fought Dylan's grip, but he continued to whisper soothing words in her ear. Max watched, struck with…guilt. All this time, Max had thought that Bambina was sort of a robot, without a soul. This horrible display of utter hysterics proved it all wrong. Bambina continued to scream. The boy she loved was gone. It stabbed Max in the heart. Her best friend, her buddy, her brother. He was gone.

The guards were having trouble figuring out what to do, so they just backed off. A couple stood around the dead bodies of the guard. One came out of the crowd and spoke. "You need to leave. Now." This only deepened Bambina rage. He backed away. It was painful for them to watch innocent teenagers become mentally crippled. They slowly walked away from the scene.

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><p>Max pressed her ear to Iggy's chest. There was still a beat, but it was shallow and uneven. If they did not get help immediately, the beat would stop, and Iggy would be dead. It seemed hopeless. They were in the middle of Australia. And they couldn't find Fang and Bryce. Dylan managed to throw Iggy over his shoulder and fly. Bambina had somehow calmed down, but she was shaking horribly. Max had never seen anyone react like this, not even when Max herself had thought Fang was dead. It was probably because Bambina and Iggy had shared a scientific bond that was strengthened through love. Max and Fang did not share that bond, and Max didn't love Dylan.<p>

Max turned her gaze to Dylan. He flew horizontally, and let Iggy lay on his back. Max's eyes swelled with tears; she had never seen anyone in such a horrible state. He was soaked with blood, almost looking deflated. Who could save him? Dr. M was back in the U.S., and she didn't trust many other people. There was no doctor who could fix Iggy. No doctor except…

Max whipped out her cellphone and dialed. There were two rings and then a voice.

"Hello? Max? What happened? Is everyone okay?" asked Jeb.

"Where are you?" Max snapped.

"At the base. Why?"

"Iggy's dying. He's going to die. You have to help him, Jeb. He'll die if you don't."

"Come back to base," said Jeb.

"We can't! Jeb, you have to come here!"

Max was almost screaming, earning her stares from Dylan and Bambina. As the moments went by, Iggy's chances of survival were decreasing. "Okay, where are you?" asked Jeb.

Max scanned the ground. "We're near a park, maybe thirty miles away from base. Hurry!"

The phone clicked and Max tucked it in her backpack. "Let's land."

Max watched as Dylan struggled to position Iggy so that they could safely land. They planted their feet on the ground and laid Iggy on a park bench. His breaths were becoming shallow. The sky was dark and scary, as if someone had planned a new moon just for the occasion. Bambina stood and stared upwards; she was probably grateful she couldn't see this. Soon enough, a van pulled up and the driver rolled down the window. It was not Jeb.

There was a man with dark skin and friendly brown eyes. "Are you Max? Is this the flock? Sorry, Jeb couldn't come without the officials becoming suspicious." His tone was kind and caring. Max nodded. The man hopped out of the van, revealing a white lab coat.

_This is what Jeb sent us? Another whitecoat?_

The man opened the trunk and brought out a massive first aid kit. He turned to Dylan. "Can you help me with this?" he asked. Dylan hesitantly walked to the back end of the van. He opened the back doors. Together, they pulled out a gurney. This man lifted Iggy onto the gurney and, with the help of Dylan, put Iggy into the van.

"Dylan, drive the car. I'll give you directions as we go." Max lead Bambina into the van. Inside, it looked like an ambulance. Maybe it was an ambulance. The man continued to treat Iggy, hooking him up to machines and pressing things to his chest. It was a lot for Max to take in.

Bambina finally spoke the question everyone was thinking. "Is he going to be okay?" Her voice was smaller than usual. It was nervous and shaking, hesitant to ask the question.

"Honestly, there is a slim chance. It seems that his wounds are very deep and his systems are shutting down. It will take a lot for him to survive."

Bambina's head drooped, and her spirit was beginning to wilt. She closed her eyes, and tried to tune out all noises and smells. All her concentration went into this.

_Angel, are you there? It's Bambina._ Bambina waited for a moment, then a small voice rang.

_Yes, Bambina? Are you okay? Is everyone all right?_ Angel thought to her.

Bambina paused. _We lost Fang and Bryce, and Iggy…he's hurt really bad. There's a man that Jeb sent, and he says that Iggy probably won't make it. _Tears fell like rain from Bambina's eyes as she thought. _Can you hear him? Tell him not to give up, and that I love him. _

Bambina reached and took Iggy's hand. His fingers twitched, almost like he was trying to squeeze her hand.

Angel's small voice returned. _I told him. He said it hurts a lot, and he's trying, but he…wants to sleep. He is tired. Iggy described it as a black hole sucking at him, and it's getting stronger. Bambina, I'm scared. Nudge and Gazzy and Sam are scared."_

Bambina tuned out Angel, not wanting to hear more. Her words went up to heaven, so maybe someone there could hear her. _If you are up there, sir, I need to ask for something. I know you think its Iggy's time, but he needs to be here. They are all telling me that Iggy will be up with you soon, but…I need him, sir. He is all I have. All I can ever wish to have. He is so young, and he has much more to do. Please, let him stay here. I know I'm not so good at this, and I'm pretty sure I'm doing it wrong. But it can't be over._

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><p><strong>So, my darlings (what did I just say...), what did you think? I'm trying to make my chapters longer, but they take forever. I didn't update for a really long time, but I tried to write chapters, and they just didn't work. So...I'm back on track and ready to roll (am I a train?). Get ready because you ain't seen nothing yet! Review!<strong>

**P.s. I'm sorry to anyone who found the contents of this chapter insulting, but...I felt like it needed to be there. :)**


	23. What Are Feelings?

Max looked over to see Bambina, who looked no better than she had in the car. They were at a private hospital, with Iggy in emergency surgery. He had severe damage to his abdomen and a bunch of internal organs in that area. They said he had a 10% chance of survival. Yes, it was a small chance, but Iggy is strong. Max was sure he would be fine. She even repeated it over and over in the bathroom while crying her eyes out. Bambina, on the other hand, was silent. Max couldn't imagine what she was thinking. With Iggy in emergency surgery and Bryce missing, it didn't seem likely that Bambina was okay. Speaking of Bryce, where was he? Where was Fang? _I'm sure they're fine. I bet they're just...looking for us._ Max whipped out her cellphone and called Fang. There were a couple rings…then

"Max?" asked Fang. Max exhaled in relief. It was Fang, sounding unharmed.

"Fang, are you okay? Where are you?" Max asked frantically. Bambina raised her head and stared at Max.

"Um, I'm fine, so is Bryce. We're in Port Hedland. Not too far from Karratha. Where are you?" Fang said.

Max thought for a second. "Not sure. I'll go check." She went to the desk and asked, "What city is this? And what is the name of this hospital?"

The woman looked a little creeped out. "Saint Bruno's Hospital. You're in Whispering Hills."

"Thanks."

Max told Fang where they were, and he said he's be there. Max hung up, feeling sick. She wanted to scream…and cry…and…No, she didn't want to scream or cry. Max wanted to stay calm and hope for the best. And that is what she would do. Everything was going to be okay as long as Max could stay calm. She sat back in her seat and glanced at Dylan. He sat in the chair next to her, reading a newspaper like nothing was wrong at all.

Max observed the room. It was a small hospital room, with white tiled floors and white walls. The chairs were teal, boxy, and uncomfortable. There were counters, a bedside table, and a large vacant bed where Iggy would sleep after the surgery. Because he would make it out of the surgery alive. Because Max was calm. _Deep breaths._ It was an ugly room that gave off an unpleasant vibe. Max, Bambina, and Dylan sat there, with a horrible silence to accompany them. Occasionally, there was a sniffle or the sound of Dylan flipping the page in the newspaper. But other than that, it was so quiet that you could hear the dropping of a pin. The silence tore at Max's brain.

The door shot open, and Fang trudged in. His eyes were bloodshot and wide, and his body was drooping. He hadn't slept in days. Bryce limped behind him. He didn't look much better. In fact, Bryce was worse because he had bruises and scratches all over him. Fang whispered hello, while Bryce simply waved at Bambina, who wasn't even looking up. Max stood, grabbed Dylan and Fang's wrists, and dragged them out of the cramped room. Again, Bryce followed, leaving Bambina all be her little self.

They walked down the hallway of the hospital and stopped where Max thought Bambina wouldn't be able to hear them. "Guys, what if Iggy doesn't make it out of there?" Max whispered.

"I think that's something we'll worry about if we have to worry about it," said Dylan in a hushed tone. This earned him a scowl from Fang.

"You saw how Bambina acted when she thought Iggy was dead. She killed two people. She was in total hysteria. I've never seen someone act like that before," said Fang.

"I have."

Max, Dylan, and Fang turned to face Bryce. "It happened to other experiments. My uncle had this big program started to figure out how to mentally attach to experiments to each other. It was like a study of perfect matches. The scientists would design two experiments, and they were a perfect pair. They usually had flaws, and they would have to be retired. But before they were, they would go into this crazy state, because their match was going to die. Just like Bambina. Look, I didn't want to tell you this, but Bambina doesn't think like we do. Neither do you, Dylan. You are both designed to be attached to someone. When that attachment breaks, the experiment goes into this weird panic, because they don't have a purpose anymore. Dylan and Bambina's purpose is to love and be loved. Without love from that certain person, these kind of experiments go insane. They can't function without their other half."

"You're telling us this now?" asked Max between her teeth.

"Are you telling me that my whole purpose is to love Max, and if I don't, I go crazy?" asked Dylan.

"SHUT UP!"

They looked and saw Bambina, standing with her fists clenched. "I'll be okay if he's gone! But he's not!"

"We weren't saying he was. Bambina, please," said Bryce.

Bambina turned on her heels and walked out.

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><p>Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, and Sam sat inside the warehouse. Angel explained what was happening with Max, Fang, Bryce, Iggy, and Bambina. Nudge cried. Gazzy cried. Sam sort of stood and looked around, not sure what was going on or what to do. What was he supposed to do? Everything was weird, and it was the first time he had been outside the school. The scientists never taught him about feelings. Did he even have feelings? He thought he did. Were feelings that sensation in your tummy when something out of the ordinary happens? He felt water in his eyes and immediately pressed his eyes closed. Water streamed down his cheeks, and Sam wiped the water away. What was this? This bad lump in his throat, and this ache in his stomach. Was this was the others felt too? He wanted to take this badness away and fix it.<p>

Sam put his hand on Nudge's shoulder. She looked up at him and cried harder. "Sorry," he said, thinking he had made it worse. Without answering, Nudge put her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder. His shirt was wet. Sam returned her hug. He felt better. Sam pulled away a little. "Iggy is strong. He fighter. We all strong." Nudge nodded.

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><p><strong>Sorry for not updating since forever ago.<strong>


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